Astral Aviation switches from NAS to ALG 
Astral Aviation has appointed Air Logistics Group (ALG) as its general sales and service agent (GSSA) for Europe, UK and USA, effective 1 January 2023. With the new commercial partnership the Kenyan cargo carrier aims to increase its service portfolio for its clients at home... more
Last newbuild and first organ donor
Probably not until a month from today, on 16 February 2023, the last of 1574 B747s ever produced will be handed over to the customer Atlas Air, which will use it for Kuehne + Nagel just like the last but one B747. The historic date, which ends a 54-year production run, was... more
Lithium battery certification for Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways is the world’s second airline to be Iata Ceiv lithium battery certified, and Qatar Aviation Services is the first ground handling company to be certified globally. The certification aims to improve safety in handling and transportation of lithium batteries... more
Liege Airport is ready for SAF
Liege Airport is Belgium’s first airport to be ready for the distribution of sustainable aviation fuel to its airline-customers. Its aviation fuel installations, as well as its fuelling staff, are ready to receive, store and distribute sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The... more
Skulls instead of drugs
During a random check at Mexico's Querétaro airport on 30 December 2022, officials of the national security service came across a bizarre shipment. They became suspicious when X-rays were made of a package that was stored at a courier service and came from the state of... more
Nicole – an uninvited guest 
Optimism prevailed at Tiaca ACF 2022, despite dark clouds in the air cargo skies. Tiaca once again held its Air Cargo Forum recently – four years after the last edition of the world air cargo association’s ACF in Toronto (see pages 18-19 of ITJ 45-46 / 2018). The fact that more... more
Parcels and ULDs for its birthday
ITA Airways Cargo chooses its first digital distribution channel. Just over a year ago, on 15 October 2021, ITA Airways took over the mantle of Italian flag carrier from Alitalia. The pandemic of the time didn’t exactly make it an ideal moment to take off in the passenger... more
An Atlantic alliance
A B747F and an AN-124-100M help an AOG to a high in the Azores. To prevent outage costs from going through the roof in the event of an ‘aircraft on ground’ (AOG), spare parts are generally urgently required. The recent deployment of several experienced players between the USA... more
To Aurora Borealis with Austrian Airlines
On 17 December, Austrian Airlines is starting a new direct service between Vienna and Tromsø, northern Norway. Avinor, the Oslo-based company that runs 44 state-owned airports, considers this to be “yet another strengthening of the Lufthansa Group’s commitment to northern Norway... more
FCS now powered by renewable energy
Frankfurt Cargo Services’ (FCS) operations in Germany are now 100% powered by renewable energy, in line with the ‘Our Sustainable Flight Path’ programme of its parent company Worldwide Flight Services (WFS). The switch to renewable power, a core part of WFS’ environmental,... more