Difficult year for air freight north of the Alps 
Cargo volumes at Munich airport (photo), Germany's second-biggest aviation hub, were down in 2019. The 331,000 t of airfreight handled in 2019 represented a 5.7% yoy decrease. Zurich airport reports an 8.4% decrease in freight volume in 2019 versus 2018. During the year... more
Paris stays on course 
Just before the general strike that hampered public transport in France started, the ITJ slipped into Paris, where CDG airport, Europe’s second most important airfreight gateway, put on a rather insightful afternoon. more
Sats to operate second Saudi air cargo terminal
Sats Saudi Arabia, a subsidiary of one of Asia’s leading providers of food solutions and gateway services, has won a 25-year cargo terminal concession in King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh, which handles close to 40% of air cargo volume in the kingdom. The... more
CAAC issues validation for converted B737-800
Aeronautical Engineers (AEI), a Miami (USA)-based passenger-to-freighter conversion specialist, has received a VSTC (VSTC0933) from the civil aviation administration of China (CAAC) for the p2f conversion for B737-800. The VSTC validates the original FAA supplemental type... more
Paycargo helps to set up America's first ACCS
PayCargo has collaborated with Atlanta airport and India-based IT business Kale Logistics Solutions to set up the first air cargo community system (ACCS) in the USA. Lionel van der Walt, Paycargo president and CEO of The Americas: "In Europe they have been leading the way,... more
Chinese cargo carrier opens first international route
Tianjin Air Cargo, a subsidiary of HNA Group with a fleet of four B737 freighter aircraft, launched its first international all-cargo route exactly one week ago, on 8 January 2020, as it commenced a once-weekly B737-800F service from the central Chinese city Zhengzhou to... more
Swiss interest group shares know-how
For the first time IG Air Cargo Switzerland offered professional air cargo training in cooperation with Spedlogswiss in Q4/2019, welcoming nine participants mainly from the forwarding business. Building on this initial success, the interest group decided to offer a second... more
Big news from Airbus and Airlander
Beluga XL, an integral part of Airbus’ industrial system, made its first operational flight on 9 January 2020. This is the first of six units to replace the Beluga ST predecessors until 2023. At 63 m long and 8 m wide, it has the largest cargo bay cross-section of all existing... more
Variegated and dynamic
Swiss WorldCargo restructured its management of the overall American markets two years ago, when René Brechbuehl retired (see also page 22 of ITJ 43-44 / 2017), putting Hendrik Falk in charge of western and southern USA and all of Latin America. The globetrotter with almost 30... more
Qatar Airways Cargo launches freighter service to Japan
Qatar Airways Cargo, one of the world’s major air cargo carriers, is expanding its cargo network in Asia Pacific with the launch of a twice weekly B777F service to Osaka, Japan effective today, 14 January 2020. Approximately 200 t of cargo capacity will be offered per week... more