AMI sees Durban growth from ‘fly-direct’ policy
The Durban branch of airfreight wholesaler AMI has seen significant growth in traffic for the first half of 2016. The first quarter showed healthy growth of 7.4 per cent, but this was overtaken by the second quarter’s growth, at 118 per cent. As a result, AMI’s Durban traffic has grown by 59 per cent for the year […]
ACI: airfreight volumes lacklustre in May
The Airports Council International (ACI) says airfreight volumes remained in a “lacklustre state in May, due to the backdrop of sluggish global trade growth. ACI explains while the industry was vulnerable to the macroeconomic context, it was also competing with other modes of delivery as freight load factors continued to exhibit weakness. Total global freight […]
Astral suspends cargo services in South Sudan, but runs evacuation flights
Astral Aviation has grounded freighters to South Sudan due to reported conflict in the area and won’t resume them until 15 July, but is carrying out charter evacuation missions. The African carrier had stopped all flights from 9-12 July, citing concerns over safety of their staff, affecting the three weekly cargo flights from Nairobi to Juba. […]
IATA: Hopes for a stronger 2016 beginning to fade
Airfreight volumes have continued to move sideways as hopes for a stronger 2016 fade, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says in its May 2016 market analysis. Freight tonne kilometres (FTK) grew by 0.9 per cent in May, with Africa, Europe and the Middle East seeing growth while Asia Pacific, Latin America and North America […]
WorldACD: May another disappointing month
May was another “disappointment” and volumes grew year-on-year (YoY) by 0.5 per cent, according to a latest report by industry analyst WorldACD. WorldACD says North America fell back by four per cent, whereas MESA grew by the same percentage. Yield in US dollars dropped by 1.9 per cent compared to April. In the year-to-date, Europe […]
The last region of air cargo opportunity is rising
Africa is the last frontier of opportunity for aviation and the air cargo market, relatively untapped and waiting to develop into the powerhouse region many think it can become. However, it continues to be held back by political instability, despite this improving, a lack of infrastructure and co-operation between all 54 countries on the continent, […]
Virgin awards GSA contract to VN Cargo in Nigeria
Virgin Atlantic Cargo has appointed VN Cargo Connect as its new general sales agency (GSA) partner in Lagos, Nigeria. The airline operates daily Airbus A330 flights to and from Nigeria’s largest city. In support of the new Virgin Atlantic contract, VN Cargo Connect has increased the size of its sales team in Nigeria from seven […]
Emirates upgrades Dakar flights to Boeing 777-300ERs
Emirates SkyCargo is to increase capacity to Africa by upgrading its four times a week Dakar services to Boeing 777-300ERs from 2 September. The service, which operates on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, is being upgraded from Airbus A340-300s, and will offer an additional 80 tonnes per week of cargo capacity. Emirates says Senegalese exports […]
Ethiopian Cargo outlines expansion plans and future aims
Ethiopian Cargo is aiming to grow its freighter fleet to 18 aircraft by 2025 from the eight it operates today as it targets growth across the business. Speaking at the Africa Air Cargo Summit 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the opening speeches yesterday, the carrier’s chief executive officer, Tewolde Gebramariam said growing its fleet […]
Development of intra-African air cargo networks vital for future
Developing intra-African networks is essential to grow the continent’s airfreight market and new agreements set to come into play are set to give a significant boost. Boeing’s Thomas Crabtree (pictured above), who analyses the air cargo market for the US aircraft manufacturer told delegates at the Africa Air Cargo Summit in Addis Ababa yesterday that the […]
Challenges remain extensive in Africa, but positive signs
Africa’s air cargo market faces a raft of challenges, despite posting good growth over the last few years. Kenya Airways commercial director, Peter Musola told delegates in the session ‘Africa – the Big Picture’ at the Africa Air Cargo Summit in Addis Ababa yesterday that these include safety and security, a lack of market access, poor […]
African handler Siginon Aviation renews SIA Cargo agreement
Kenyan cargo handler Siginon Aviation has renewed its ground handling agreement with Singapore Airlines Cargo (SIA Cargo) at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi for three years. The new agreement follows a rigorous audit of Siginon’s processes, facilities and systems in the newly opened air cargo terminal on the airside of JKIA. Siginon Aviation has […]
Brussels Airport on the recovery path after terrorist attacks
The terrorist attacks at Brussels Airport on 22 March had a huge impact, but the airport is recovering and getting back to its growth path. There was little disruption to freighters, which were only stopped for 24 hours before getting back to normal, but bellyhold cargo took a significant hit. The gateway’s head of cargo, […]
60 Seconds with Astral Aviation founder and chief executive officer, Sanjeev Gadhia
Justin Burns, ACW: How is business for Astral Aviation? Gadhia: We have experienced a 15 per cent decline in payloads in 2016, compared to the same period in 2015, which can be contributed to various reasons such as drop of oil, gas and mining commodities, which combined with a weak currency is affecting inbound volumes […]
IATA calls on governments to ensure airlines can repatriate revenues
Venezuela has blocked the repatriation of $3.78 billion worth of airline funds, which it has held for the last 16 months, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA is calling on governments to respect international agreements obliging them to ensure airlines are able to repatriate their revenues. IATA monitors blocked funds globally, the sum […]
Senegal Customs partners with CHAMP for AEI
CHAMP Cargosystems and Senegal Customs announced have started the work to implement Advance Electronic Information (AEI) filing for air cargo shipments for Senegal. AEI will give better visibility, reduce clearance time for shipments and increase security. The aim is to start the mandatory pilot phase as of 1 June and then go live by 1 September. […]
Cargo airport to be built in northern Nigeria
The first ever cargo airport will be built in northern Nigeria as the Yobe State government will soon award a contract for construction, according to media reports. Nigerian media report the state’s commissioner for works, transport and energy, Sirajo Wakil as explaining the move on Sunday. The say the airport, which would be for ticketing as well as for […]
IATA: airfreight markets grow in April
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says global air cargo markets grew by 3.2 per cent in April. The association says demand measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) rose in the month compared to the same period last year. IATA says yields remained pressured as April freight capacity (measured in available freight tonne kilometers or […]
American Airlines appoints African GSA
American Airlines Cargo is further expanding its reach into new markets with the appointment of its first general sales agent (GSA) in Africa. HAE Group has been chosen to cover sales across a number of countries in central, east and north, as well as South Africa. Effective this month, the HAE Group is responsible for selling […]
ACI: International freight weak while domestic volumes grow
Worldwide freight grew by 1.1 per cent in March, with domestic growth making up for international weakness, Airports Council International (ACI) says in its March 2016 FreightFlash. International volumes were down by 2.1 per cent in March, with North America down by 11.9 per cent, followed by Latin America-Caribbean at 4.1 per cent, with Asia […]
IATA: Volumes and load factors keep tumbling in March
The airfreight market has faced another challenging month in March with freight tonne kilometres (FTK) falling by two per cent while load factors keep tumbling, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports. The results have been exaggerated by the comparison with a particularly strong start to 2015 when airfreight received a boost due to the […]
WorldACD: few bright spots in a slow market
WorldACD says March offered some “hope of a change for the better” in a few of the world’s air cargo markets, but year-on-year (YOY) yields in US dollars still dropped by 18 per cent. The industry market analyst says although YOY volumes dropped by 0.9 per cent worldwide, the flows from Asia Pacific to Europe and […]
WorldACD: difficult start to the year continues for air cargo
Air cargo’s difficult start to 2016 was extended into February, according to industry data analyst WorldACD. Worldwide volumes dropped by 3.8 per cent year-over-year (YoY), which is the largest YoY volume drop in three years, the market analyst says. The regions of Asia Pacific and North America were the big losers in January and February as […]
SAA hoping for better year
South African Airways (SAA) Cargo says it is hopeful that business will improve in 2016 as it faces a slow global economy, countries in the region suffer from drought and weakness of the South African rand. SAA Cargo general manager, Tleli Makhetha tells Air Cargo Week: “We experienced a decline in volumes in 2015 due […]
2016 off with a bang for CFR Freight
CFR Freight is not expecting 2016 to be an easy year but following a record breaker in 2015, general manager for airfreight Stephen Bishop, and group chief executive officer, Peter Schmidt-Löffler tell Air Cargo Week. They say: “The diversification to warehousing and transport has transformed the business and has further solidified the relationship with our […]
EgyptAir Cargo adds route to Chad in Africa
EgyptAir Cargo has launched its first flight to N’Djamena in Chad carrying 40 tonnes of cargo. This is part of the carrier’s strategy aiming at operating new routes around the globe and also boosting its position in the African market. Media reports say the Cairo-based airline had negotiated with authorities in Chad about entering the market […]
IAG Cargo targets perishables market in South Africa
IAG Cargo is to expand its reach into South Africa by adding a new route to Cape Town later this year, to target the flourishing perishables market. The carrier has today launched a new Boeing 777-200 route to Cape Town from London’s Gatwick Airport, which will operate three times a week. The new Cape Town route […]
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo returns to Brussels Airport
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo is set to operate 12 full cargo flights a week out of Brussels Airport starting from 26 March. The airport has been conducting intensive talks with the carrier about returning to Brussels Airport after the Federal Government had inked a new bilateral agreement with Ethiopia, enabling the carrier to undertake direct flights from […]
Fall in February for Brussels but Ethiopian may return
Brussels Airport saw cargo volumes decline 1.8 per cent in February compared to the same month last year – but was boosted by the extra day in the month which accounts for three per cent of the total. The fall was driven by freighter traffic, which dropped a significant 14.5 per cent as the gateway […]
IATA: Volumes up but load factors keep falling
Freight tonne kilometres (FTK) in January rose by 2.7 per cent but load factors continue to fall suggesting yields will come under further pressure, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The association says the January result continues the growth seen towards the end of 2015 and is the fastest it has been since […]
