Analyst issues warnings for June 
May 2020 was not as bad for the air cargo industry as the previous month. As indicated in data from Clive Data Services, the industry has passed the lowest point. After a -37% decline in volumes YOY in April, the corresponding figure for May of -31% showed a slight upward... more
DHL says "thank you" in Linz
DHL Express came up with a special gesture to thank frontline workers amid the coronavirus pandemic. A DHL aircraft with rainbow symbols and huge stickers saying "Thank you" shows the express service provider's gratefulness for all essential workers who keep operations... more
Merchant fleet officer shortage imminent?
The already existing shortage of officers to crew the global merchant fleet is getting worse. According to the latest manning annual review and forecast report published by the London (UK)-based shipping consultancy Drewry, the reduced attractiveness of a career at sea and... more
Smart Kenyans and Canadians
Transport Canada has approved the conversion of Dash 8-100/200 and Dash 8-300 aircraft into simplified package freighters in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 748 Air Services, a Kenyan provider of passenger and cargo services to humanitarian, natural resources and... more
Carrier reliability better than expected
In its latest global liner performance (GLP) report, the Copenhagen (Denmark)-based maritime consultancy Sea-Intelligence lists the reliability figures of worldwide shipping for the month of April. According to this analysis, global schedule reliability declined marginally... more
"Warhorse Africa" ready for next "jump"
"Operation Warhorse", an initiative to develop a freight pipeline to bring vital medical supplies to South Africa utilising all-inclusive shared-space air charters, was launched last month as an initiative by the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff)... more
Perils for crews and idle fleets
The coronavirus pandemic has left a lot of ships lying idle, which has created a number of new challenges, as a new publication of the Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (Agcs) shows. The difficulties include delays in servicing and inspections and a shortage of... more
Asian and African airports pave the "Runway to Extinction"
According to "Runway to Extinction", the most comprehensive assessment of wildlife trafficking in the air transport sector to date, published last month, by far most "trade lanes" pass through Asia and Africa. The reports builds on the previous Routes... more
Flexible cargo platform in the Indian Ocean
Since traffic restrictions were introduced exactly two months ago (27 March 2020), the airport of the French overseas department La Réunion has handled 1,400 t of air freight, two thirds of which were imports. Although these volumes are 60% lower than in the previous year, they... more
Container index takes a fall in April
The downturn had been expected. The container throughput of the RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute for Shipping Economics (ISL) fell from 110.4 (corrected) to 108.9 in April, down 6.5% from the value of the same period last year. In the Chinese... more