NEWS\\\


Issue 3 2020 - Freight Business Journal News Roundup


Kerry Logistics Network has moved its UK air freight division into new premises at the Skyport Heathrow site. It provides a fully temperature-controlled bonded warehouse including deep frozen storage, pick and pack machinery and vacuum cooling. The facility has a rating of AA+ under the new BRC Global Standard for Food Safety.


Air Heathrow sees cargo surge


Heathrow airport had its busiest day for cargo only fl ights on 31 March 2020, when it handled 38 dedicated movements. Normally, the gateway handles an average of 47 cargo-only fl ights a week. Despite the rise in freight-only fl ights, Heathrow’s overall cargo volumes were impacted by the grounding of passenger fl eets as 95% of cargo usually travels in the bellyhold of passenger planes. Nevertheless, over 100,000 tonnes of cargo still travelled through the airport in March, down 32.5% compared to the same time last year. Heathrow moved to single runway operations on 6 April and over the coming weeks was due to consolidate operations into Terminals 2 and 5 only.


Global air cargo volumes fell by 23% in March versus the same four weeks of 2019, according to the latest intelligence from CLIVE Data Services. The decline in demand accelerated week-on-week throughout March, with the week ending 29 March showing volumes just half of what was moved in the same seven days of last year. The ‘dynamic load factor’ for the four-week period of 68% - based on both the volume and weight of cargo fl own and capacity available – represented a decrease of 1.5% points versus 2019 but an increase of 3% points over February.


Dachser Air and Sea Logistics is stepping up its charter fl ights between Frankfurt and China and is off ering an air bridge between the US, Latin America and China via the German gateway. The forwarder will charter 747 freighters, initially from mid-March to the end of the month. It said that the corona virus is still having a serious impact on capacity in the air freight market and, because the situation is so volatile, capacity planning was becoming a real challenge.


Etihad Cargo said on 26 March that it was introducing a fl eet of Boeing 787-10 aircraſt as ‘passenger freighters’ to operate 34 weekly fl ights and to complement its fl eet of Boeing 777 full freighters. Each 787 aircraſt will provide capacity for 12 lower deck pallets and four containers, carrying up to 45 tons of payload. The passenger freighter network will introduce capacity, subject to permits, into India, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea and other places where borders remain open for cargo. On top of that, the current freighter schedule will be enhanced by additional fl ights into Riyadh, London, Hong Kong and Shanghai.


Virgin Atlantic has delivered 3.5 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) in to the UK on cargo-only fl ights from China to Heathrow chartered by the Department of including 50 ventilators, 1.8 million face masks, 600,000 face shields and visors,


Heathrow airport said its cargo movements surged by 53% in late March, compared to the weekly average, as the airport prioritised cargo fl ights with medical supplies in the fi ght against COVID-19. This fi gure is set to increase further as the airport scales up its cargo operation. Pharmaceutical products


are already one of


Heathrow’s top imports, with the airport handling 41% of the UK’s pharmaceutical imports (by value) in 2019.


It is calling on more airlines


and freight companies to take advantage of the hub airport’s quieter schedule as passenger fl ights are cancelled. Logistics companies have


already begun importing key equipment such as testing kits. During normal operations, the UK’s


Heathrow is largest


port by value, with 34% of the country’s cargo, 95% of which is carried in the belly hold of passenger planes. Whilst passenger travel remains


East Midlands is vital lifeline


East Midlands Airport (EMA) says it has continued to operate 60% of its scheduled fl ights during the COVID-19 crisis, more than any other major European airport. The latest European air traffi c


statistics, published by Eurocontrol, show that EMA has seen the smallest drop in fl ight numbers of any major airport in Europe over the last week, ahead of Bergen, Stavanger and Cologne. In


the week of immediately


following the Government’s imposition


stricter social


distancing measures on 16 March, the number of cargo aircraſt movements increased by 10% at EMA. Across the two weeks to 29 March, cargo aircraſt movements increased by an average of 7.4% a day.


The growth is due to a sudden


need for urgent medical and PPE equipment, including facemasks, more ad-hoc fl ights as EMA takes on additional capacity from other airports that are now closed at


night, together with a reduction in long-haul passenger fl ights from other UK airports. More people are shopping


online and ordering goods for home delivery, many of them from overseas stockists. Airport employees, alongside


those of DHL, UPS, FedEx and Royal Mail, have been designated key workers by Government and are working around the clock to ensure next-day-deliveries for hospitals, shops and people isolated at home, handling over 1,000 tonnes a day. Managing director, Karen


Smart, said: “It is at times like these when EMA really demonstrates its national value and shows how important airfreight is to keeping Britain moving. The airport is a vital lifeline for businesses that need to get products to market quickly, the NHS frontline, and those R&D companies that are working fl at out to develop new medicines which can help combat crippling viruses such as Covid-19.”


a million


disposable gloves, 38,000 items for eye protection, and 75,000 protective coveralls and isolation gowns.


Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Cargo says it will boost capacity to its top freighter gateways in its summer schedule, which runs from 29 March to 28 October. The network will also be expanded to capacity- constrained markets that are wrestling with decreased passenger operations or temporary travel bans due to the corona virus outbreak.


Two extra weekly freighter fl ights to Amsterdam will boost schedules to fi ve times weekly service, Milan moves to a twice-weekly turnaround freighter service, while Etihad Cargo will launch new freighter connections linking Abu Dhabi with Paris. The new freighter fl ights will depart Abu Dhabi International Airport for Paris Charles De Gaulle on Thursdays and Saturdays. The same day return services will add 200 tons of weekly freight capacity between the UAE and the French capital. These services will be complemented by the increase in services into Johannesburg and Nairobi, to twice weekly. The seasonal plan also doubles services to four fl ights per week, while Hanoi gains a third-weekly service and Singapore a second weekly fl ight.


Hactl takes COVID-19 fi ght to the canteen


Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) – the territory’s largest independent cargo handler – has installed thermal cameras in its staff canteen and throughout SuperTerminal 1 to step up the fi ght against COVID-19. The cameras will help to identify any individual with an abnormally high body temperature, a key


indicator of potential infection with Coronavirus. Hactl is also now implementing


additional temperature checks for all staff . Hactl has meanwhile banned


business travel, restricting business meetings to teleconferencing and introduced home-working for some offi ce staff .


restricted, airports will continue to play a key role in keeping the UK’s supply chain alive, for both essential workers and goods, and Heathrow is repurposing its operation and scaling up its cargo off ering. It is also taking steps to assist airline


the industry supporting slot such as alleviation – a


relaxation of the rules requiring airlines to use their slots to keep them, off ering free parking to aircraſt grounded as a result of COVID-19 and bringing forward


3


growth incentive payments which have helped to increase cash fl ow for airlines. Heathrow chief executive,


John Holland-Kaye, said: “This is an unprecedented time for the international community, with COVID-19 requiring us all to work together, adapt and adopt extraordinary measures to quell the spread of this virus. For the fi rst time in a decade, our airport has additional capacity in its schedule, capacity which we’ve begun to see used to help push vital supplies across the globe to help support frontline teams in the battle against this pandemic.”


Biggin on the Bump open for business


One-time World War II fi ghter base London Biggin Hill Airport says it remains fully operational and


ready to support cargo


operators transporting goods and essential medical equipment around the UK. Head of marketing Andy Patsalides, says: “We are well-prepared to welcome aircraſt


capable of carrying specialised cargo, including


personal protection apparatus, ventilators and medical supplies. Our proximity to the capital means we can connect air cargo consignments quickly and effi ciently to London the South East. We have no slot restrictions here, and this, coupled with long operating hours and ample ramp space ensures we can handle cargo throughout the working day.”


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