Turkish Cargo goes global 20


FBJ talks to Turhan Ozen, chief cargo officer, Turkish Airlines. Situated


How has Turkish Cargo’s business changed during the Covid pandemic? Is there a lot more emphasis on freight, fewer passenger planes flying and passenger aircraft being converted into freighters?


During the first half of the year, market capacity experienced significant losses due to the uncertainty resulting from the pandemic as well as the restrictions. But despite all the challenges, Turkish Cargo increased its global market share to 5% of all air cargo consignments transported worldwide. In addition to supporting


global trade, we have been maintaining business by transporting health-care and aid materials, in particular masks, pharmaceutical products, medical devices, medical equipment and now vaccines to the whole world. We


transported more 1 February than


45,000 tons of health products and medical equipment between


and


30 November 2020 and, in November alone, 15 passenger planes have been used only for


cargo transportation. In


this way, more than 200 flights have been operated.


at Turkish the global


logistics industry’s centre of gravity,


Cargo will


be starting operations at its brand new facility at Istanbul Airport,


SmartIST, which is


equipped with state-of-the- art technology, by 2021. With SmartIST, Turkish Cargo aims to become one of the top five air cargo brands as part of one of the leading airlines worldwide in terms of capacity and service quality - as well as offering fast transfers as a result of advantages such as


dedicated


Where does Turkish Cargo now stand in the world airfreight rankings?


Turkish Cargo has been


operating one of the world’s largest airfreight networks and is the fastest growing air cargo brand in the world. Our operations worldwide have provided a global air bridge through facilities at


Istanbul


and Ataturk airports. As a result, the brand transported more than 1.5 million tons of cargo in 2019. We reach 96 international destinations with our cargo freighters - the world’s largest network.


Ferrymasters set to


offer rail link between Turkey and UK


P&O Ferrymasters is planning to offer new rail routes between Turkey, Benelux, the UK, France and Germany in 2021, says director Murat Bog. At the same time, over the next


year it is planning to extend the range of equipment it offers on its intermodal services including mega trailers, in addition to the 45’ high-cube containers that it already operates. Ferrymasters is a major


operator in the Turkish international market, with international road and intermodal services to and Europe, Russia and CIS, having established its own office in Istanbul in November 2019. It also operates bonded warehousing


and domestic transport while its mother company DP World has its own port at Yarımca, İzmit. Murat Bog adds that


Ferrymasters can offer road transport from any destination in Turkey. In addition it uses varied transportation modes including intermodal services, rail connections through Istanbul and short sea ro ro connections from and to Istanbul, Bursa and Mersin.


Main trade lanes for


intermodal services are the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Italy, Germany, France, Hungary, Spain and export and import road services are available for all countries in Europe. The Covid crisis has naturally


cargo areas


and terminal-apron direct connections.


What efforts are you making to carry the Covid vaccine?


Turkish Cargo has completed preliminary works on cold storage rooms at our facilities at Ataturk and Istanbul airports, as well as active and passive containers and is currently operating


400 pharma


corridors around the world. The Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) certificate of issued by IATA for air cargo, is the highest standard for pharma shipments. As the first airline to hold such a certificate,


had some effect on the market, Murat Bog says. During the first phase of the Covid period, with lockdowns, border problems and production cutbacks, international transport companies found that their fleet utilisation dropped dramatically. They tried to control their costs as much as possible with some diversifying their routes and destinations. Murat Bog says: “Intermodal


transport usage increased a lot due to Covid risks for drivers and quarantine processes at the borders. Then aſter June, exports from Turkey especially increased with delayed demand and export freight prices increased because of the export- import imbalance in the market. “But throughout the process,


e-trade growth was amazing as Turkish retailers and online platforms adapted to consumer requirements.” Providers of warehousing, contract logistics


also saw a challenging period but, again, demand for their services increased. Brexit will have some effect on


the Turkey/UK market but this will be limited in comparison to other European countries, Murat Bog predicts. As Turkey is part of the EU customs union but not part of European Union P&OF already operates under a customs regimes for flows between UK and Turkey. Export or import declarations must be opened and T1/T2 documents presented to move the goods, something that Ferrymasters has long experience of. Digitisation and EDI links with


customers, suppliers, partners and customs are crucial in simplifying


the


flows while Ferrymasters’ AEO status


advantages. Nevertheless: “It will be time-consuming, managing the flow of documents will become


very complex and process and could bring additional


waiting times will occur at every intermediate process. This will result in lower customer satisfaction and high operational costs.” Operators will be affected by queues at the ports and Channel Tunnel especially during the transition phase. On the other hand, Brexit


may create new business opportunities


between


Turkey and UK, considering the long-standing relations and increasing trade volume between


the


Turkish Cargo carries vaccines, pharmaceuticals and all pharmaceutical products that require a cold chain. In addition to the


IATA


scheme; a joint project, ‘Project Sunray’ has been launched by TIACA (The International Air Cargo Association), which gathers


all stakeholders in


the air cargo industry under a single roof in order to distribute manufactured vaccines on a global scale, together with Pharma.Aero, which is focused on end-to-end pharma and vaccine air logistics solutions. Turkish Cargo is one of the key participants in this project. We are trying to coordinate


the logistics and supply chain arrangements for all vaccine manufacturers and distributors worldwide, on behalf of the air cargo industry. Such efforts include also


airports, air cargo carries, handlers, forwarders and global logistics organizations. In this respect,


countries. The fleet, which is one of the


the power


of Turkish Cargo, with its market share of 7.5% of the worldwide pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical products market, as well as the expertise and capabilities, readily allow for the transportation of the Covid-19 vaccines across the world.


Any developments with the fleet, routes or schedules?


Operating one of the widest networks in the world, Turkish Cargo reaches more than 320 destinations, 96 of which are direct cargo destinations, in 127


youngest in the world, consists of 365 aircraft; 25 of which are freighters. Turkish Cargo has been reinforcing it with eight Boeing 777F new-generation efficient, long-haul , high capacity freighters.


How is the move to the new Istanbul airport going? Has it been affected by the pandemic?


The pandemic created a global challenge, and did not leave any area unaffected. However, there are no changes to our plans for relocating to the Istanbul Airport, and our cargo facilities at Ataturk Airport


will be


moved there gradually in 2021. Our SmartIST facility, which is one of the largest air cargo terminals in the world, will be equipped with an outstanding technological infrastructure and will be the smartest air cargo terminal and hub in the world. Some of the technology being


tested at SmartIST is


being implemented for the first or second time in the world.


late December, reaching China in just 12 days. There is already a rail


two countries.


Business could be boosted, especially if the two nations can quickly sign a special trade agreement.


Furthermore,


Turkey could be a hub between the Far-East and UK. Murat Bog predicts that


Turkey will be a logistics and transit hub astride the Silk Road and some trial trains have already been operated between Turkey and China. The first export train from Istanbul leſt in


connection between Asia and Europe through Istanbul’s Marmaray tunnel under the Bosphorus and a second rail route is planned via the third Bosphorus Bridge. However, Ferrymasters would like the country to invest much more in rail infrastructure and intermodal terminals its share of domestic and international transportation is still very low. Turkey has invested heavily


in fast passenger trains, metros and new motorways, all of which have all helped to reduce transit times and to raise the


competitive position of


companies in Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey that stretches eastwards from the Bosphorus. The Dardanelles Bridge is one ongoing project that will slash journey times from the region to Europe.


Issue 1 2021 - Freight Business Journal


///TURKEY


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32