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WORLD AIRPORTS .COM ACW Digital is sponsored by FREIGHTERS.COM
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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,104
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26 October 2020
UNMASKING THE CARGO CRIMINALS
TOP GEAR
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INSIDE AIR ATLANTA ICELANDIC’S MALTA AOC
TO increase its competitiveness in the ACMI market post Covid-19, Air Atlanta Icelandic is taking steps towards establishing an AOC in Malta ... PAGE 2
UNMASKING THE CARGO CRIMINALS
THE opportunity for criminals to take advantage of COVID19 face covering requirements presents a security challenge for commercial premises in ... PAGE 3 EMIRATES TO OPERATE A380 TO AMMAN
Zhukov: “This is a great example of Volga-Dnepr’s Cargo Supermarket concept in action”
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TRAN Airlines, an express cargo carrier within the Volga-Dnepr Group, has accomplished a complex multi-modal delivery of spare parts for a Porus Burner Unit. The delivery was organised in partnership with SIS Logistik from Frankfurt to Perm in Russia and included various transportation modes. Once the consignment was successfully trucked from Frankfurt to Cologne, the equipment was loaded onto ATRAN’s Boeing 737-400SF to be further safely transported to Moscow
Vnukovo International Airport, where the carrier is based. With the final destination being Perm, which lies some 1,154 km from Moscow, trucking delivery was chosen as the most preferable mode. Being a part of Volga-Dnepr Group, ATRAN’s specialists decided in favour of Volga-Trucks which has been part of the Group since 1994 and specialises in road feeder services across Russia, the CIS and the EU, including to major airports. Volga-Trucks’ experienced team has completed internal Customs transit and
safely delivered the equipment to Perm. “This is a great example of Volga-Dnepr’s Cargo Supermarket concept in action and the first time we have organised internal Customs transit in co-operation with Volga-Trucks. “Being experienced in developing various schemes for air freight delivery with the usage of the Group fleet, we are now moving one step further to foster multi-modal transportations using the expertise of the specialists within ATRAN and Volga-Trucks company,” commented Vasiliy Zhukov, commercial director of ATRAN Airlines.
Ildar Kamaletdinov, head of sales of Volga-Trucks, commented: “Completing another delivery under Cargo Supermarket concept is a great achievement and the result of the teamwork which at first glance seems like an easy task. Although there are hours of work behind the scenes and it is all worth it once you accomplish another multimodal transportation together with one of the Group’s carrier. “We have been enhancing our service quality, expanding our fleet and digital capabilities to guarantee fast, reliable and safe trucking options.”
EMIRATES will be providing more options and choice for its customers in Jordan with the introduction of scheduled Airbus A380 services to ... PAGE 5
JAL AND MATTERNET IN PARTNERSHIP
Japan Airlines (JAL) and Matternet signed an MOU to assess drone delivery healthcare opportunities and develop a future drone ... PAGE 7
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NEWS
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Oman Air and luxury fragrance house Amouage collaborate O to honour Omani women
man Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, and international luxury fragrance house Amouage are collaborating to recognise and honour Omani women. On the occasion of Omani Women’s Day, 50 Sindbad female members were received at the Amouage Factory and Visitors Centre for a special and personal ceremony to thank them for their loyalty to Oman Air. The airline also recognised a number of its Omani women staff who have delivered exceptional contributions and worked with great confidence by presenting them with special kits from Amouage. This latest collaboration is added to a long list of successful partnerships Oman Air has had with Amouage over the years. Today, Oman Air’s First and
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Business Class guests enjoy specially assembled Amouage amenity kits. The His & Hers care-packages ensure that guests are pampered with a set of luxurious Amouage essentials in a range of generous sizes. Ladies kits also come
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with a vanity set whilst the men’s kits include a shaving set. Omani Women’s Day was first celebrated in 2009, to recognise Omani women and all their contributions to the Sultanate.
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SOUTH AFRICA REMAINS TOP AFRICAN HOTSPOT FOR CARGO CRIME
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aving collaborated over the last three years to produce global reports on the incidence of cargo theft, international freight transport insurer TT Club and BSI, the business improvement company, have once again come together to highlight risk; this time, specifically focusing in on South Africa. The report, entitled ‘Freight Crime in South African Supply Chains’ is made possible by fusing the threat and intelligence data and analysis from BSI’s Supply Chain Risk Exposure Evaluation Network (SCREEN) and TT Club’s insurance risk management and loss prevention insights. The full report is downloadable.
In total, three key trends resulted from BSI and TT’s research in 2019 and 2020: thefts from facilities increased during the first half of 2020; an uptick in incidents of cargo theft occurred in Eastern Cape and Western Cape between the first two quarters of 2020; and thefts of food and beverage and medical supplies increased in Q2 2020. The report’s authors emphasise that the understanding of cargo theft risk plays a big part in mitigating both the occurrence and impact of these incidents on stakeholders’ organisations and is crucial in building a truly resilient supply chain.
Vulnerable situation
Mike Yarwood, TT Club’s Loss Prevention Managing Director stated, “As cargo theft continues to impact business operations and disrupt supply chains in South Africa and elsewhere, it is vital that companies stay on top of potential threats and risks. Security awareness and proactive risk management actions are essential steps in creating a risk-averse supply chain. In highlighting causal influences this report also points the way to how preventative measures can, and must, be introduced and enhanced to reverse the damaging trends.” David Fairnie, BSI Principal Consultant for Supply Chain Security added, “Understanding the threats in South Africa, detailed in this report, and incorporating the suggested preventative measures, including screening employees, implementing security management systems and securing parking depots, will help organisations work towards developing more secure and resilient supply chains.”
South Africa ranks among the top countries in the world, and first on the African continent, for BSI’s forecasted losses due to cargo theft, underscoring the significant economic impact of this issue in the nation. Historically, there is an inverse relationship between crime and economic growth in South Africa. However, this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of lockdowns and a decline in the economy, an additional layer was added to that relationship. The economic decline, along with the changes brought about by a restrictive lockdown in response to COVID-19 earlier this year, left the freight sector in a vulnerable situation. South Africa is an environment traditionally characterised by cargo truck hijackings. Further, cross-border truck congestion and slower freight clearance created secondary
Understanding the threats
disruptions that leave cargo even more susceptible to theft and general violence. The graphic – Cargo Theft Trends South Africa - illustrates statistics from both the
South African Police Service (SAPS) and news sources, in addition to those recorded by BSI’s SCREEN, and underlines the typical characteristics of cargo thefts occurring in the country.
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NEWS Aeroflot’s new top three global ranking
AEROFLOT has strengthened its position among leading global airline groups, ranking in the top three by passenger traffic growth (9%) and in the top five for RPK growth (9.2%). Pobeda, the Group’s low-cost carrier and a key growth driver for the Group, had the second highest passenger load factor in the world (94%), according to an analysis of data from airlines globally for 2019 by Airline Business. Pobeda was also a global leader by passenger traffic growth (43.2%), behind only Indonesia AirAsia (52.1%). Aeroflot Group’s domestic traffic matched levels of 2019 in August and September.
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Etihad Cargo approves CSafe RAP container for service ETIHAD Cargo has partnered with CSafe Global, the innovation leader in active, passive parcel and cell and gene temperature-controlled container solutions for the transport of life-enhancing pharmaceuticals, to introduce its latest high-performing container, the CSafe RAP, across its wide-body and freighter aircraft. The CSafe RAP uses “innovative” heating and compressor-driven cooling technologies, along
with advanced VIP insulation, to maintain constant payload temperatures even at extreme ambient temperatures spanning from -30°C to +54°C – the broadest operating range in the industry. Its large payload compartment of 6.68 cu m easily accommodates up to four standard US pallets or five standard Euro pallets. With an extended battery run time of more than 120 hours, the CSafe
RAP ensures temperature integrity and product viability through to destination even on extended journeys. Etihad Cargo, which has recently launched PharmaLife, a specialised pharma and healthcare product, was the first carrier in the Middle East to receive IATA’s CEIV (Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators) certification in pharmaceutical logistics. Following a vigorous testing process, the carrier has now approved the use of the CSafe RAP on its aircrafts to offer customers continued assurance of compliance and temperature - control along with the largest payload capacity in the industry. “As an IATA CEIV Pharma certified
carrier, we take the transportation and handling of pharmaceutical shipments very seriously, adhering to the strictest processes with the very best in class equipment that ensures the best quality handling in the quickest time,” said Fabrice Panza, manager global cool chain solutions at Etihad Cargo. “The addition of the CSafe RAP further enhances our customer offering by completing our active cool chain portfolio. Through this partnership we are now able to provide the largest and most high-tech solutions of active containers worldwide,” Panza added. Patrick Schafer, CEO of CSafe Global said: “CSafe has the highest quality and best performing products in the industry, as well as the ability to guarantee availability anywhere in the world. “We are delighted to be able to offer this new option to Etihad Cargo’s customers.”
Invisible world of logistics to be revealed on-line
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he often invisible world of 21st century logistics systems and the critical role they play in all our lives will be the subject of the first in a new series of online public lectures from Aston University in the UK being launched this month. The series, Aston Talks, will showcase a selection of the research taking place at Aston University and its impact on society. International logistics and systems expert, Professor Ed Sweeney, will be launching the series with “Engineering 21st century logistics systems – a cultural perspective” in late October. The talk, which is free to attend and open to all, will take place on Microsoft Teams Live from 18:30 to 19:30 UTC on Tuesday 27 October 2020.
Air Atlanta Icelandic to establish Maltese AOC
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o increase its competitiveness in the ACMI market post Covid-19, Air Atlanta Icelandic is taking steps towards establishing an AOC in Malta. This strategic move will strengthen the Company´s position in the ACMI and Charter market with improved market reach and access. The new airline will be named Air Atlanta Europe and is set to commence operations in 2021. Baldvin M. Hermannsson, CEO of Air Atlanta says: “The foundation of Air Atlanta Europe in Malta is an important step for us to strengthen both current and future operations in an ever-increasingly competitive ACMI market.“ Charles Pace, director general for Civil Aviation at Transport Malta CAD says: “CAD is very pleased that Air Atlanta Europe have decided to set up their new AOC in Malta. The CAD are confident that over the coming months both sides will engage with each other to provide a comprehensive review of the application so as to issue the required certification.” Established in 1986, Air Atlanta Icelandic is one of the world‘s leading widebody ACMI airlines and is currently operating a fleet of nine B747-400 freighters.
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Unmasking the cargo criminals THE opportunity for criminals to take advantage of COVID-19 face covering requirements presents a security challenge for commercial premises in the supply chain and airfreight handling sector. The Face Recognition Company (FRC) is addressing that challenge with the addition of a new “unmasking” capability to its multi-camera face recognition security system. Designed for a wide range of commercial environments, from retail outlets and hospitals to sports arenas and hotels, the FRC system identifies and alerts about individuals on a watchlist. Optimised for ease-of-use by anyone from site managers to security staff, all alerting and management features are delivered via a simple mobile app. The latest system upgrade enables the system to process partial information – taking visible information and other data from partially obscured features – to identify an individual. The new functionality does not require any changes to how users operate the system, which is now able to identify persons of interest from previous visitor data, whether they are wearing a mask or not. “Face coverings are now likely to be part of our normal daily life for a long time to come – even after mandatory restrictions are lifted,” said Tim Noest, CEO, FRC. “Just a few months ago, a person entering a store with their face covered would have raised suspicion. Today, it’s the norm, and this presents real challenges from a security perspective. This new capability allows our system to identify the person behind the mask and help security staff operate more effectively in this new normal.” The technical work required to address the challenge of partially obscured face recognition pre-dates the COVID19 outbreak, and has been performed using very large datasets from wide ranges of real-world cases in challenging environments.The upgrade ensures virtually the same level of accuracy as the current system, which is
based on identifying unmasked individuals. “In addition to this new functionality, we are also extending the capability of our system to alert security staff when people enter environments when not wearing a face covering,” added Noest. “Wearing a mask is now compulsory in many retail and public transport environments across the world, and we are providing businesses with an extra pair of eyes when it comes to ensuring that customers are following the rules.”
Pharma.Aero announces three new full members PHARMA.AERO has enlarged its membership with a new airport member - Guarulhos Airport, global ground and cargo handling service provider - dnata and transporting and warehousing company - Ivemar. Jaisey Yip, vice-chairman at Pharma.Aero commented: “We are delighted to welcome these major air cargo players representing different nodes of the air cargo supply chain into the Pharma.Aero family.” Monica Lamas, commercial and cargo director at Guarulhos Airport added: “Guarulhos Airport has received important investments in infrastructure, technology and process improvements, aiming
at offering the highest quality and reliability to the pharmaceutical industries. Dirk Goovaerts, CEO for Asia Pacific at dnata said: “dnata is proud to be a part of the Pharma.Aero community. “We believe our membership is a testament to our ambition to provide reliable end-to-end air transportation for pharma shippers across the supply chain.” Yves Smets, CEO at Ivemar remarked: “We are honoured by the membership to become part of the Pharma.Aero community. We are committed to a high standard dedicated service in pharma transportation and warehousing.”
Fifty years of Delta Cargo’s DASH DELTA Cargo is celebrating the 50th anniversary of DASH, its service for same-day express shipping for small packages in the US. Since its launch, DASH has grown to be one of Delta Cargo’s most popular products, fostering the launch of a range of innovative DASH products that deliver heavy equipment, life-saving organs for transplant and more.
“Delta was one of the first airlines to offer a same-day express shipping option in the US and it is one of our most popular products and perhaps the one for which we are best known,” said Andy Kirschner, Delta’s director – cargo sales Americas. “Over 40% of domestic cargo that we transport annually is carried as DASH.”
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NEWS
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start of the year is now a reality. The first Cargo-in-Cabin flight took to the skies at the end of April. Extra space is created based on this innovative cargo carrying concept. What now fits into the cabin corresponds roughly with six large pallets – roughly 40% of the aircraft’s total cargo capacity. The extra space is being used to carry additional medical supplies to the Netherlands.
Face masks
100th KLM Cargo-in-Cabin flight takes place
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n recent months, more than 150 KLM employees have worked hard on the airline’s Cargo-in-Cabin concept. KLM has deployed this innovative, forward-looking cargo concept to transport more than 85 mil-
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lion face masks in the fight against COVID-19. On Thursday 15 October the 100th Cargo-in-Cabin flight departed for Shanghai, accompanied by Pieter Elbers, KLM president and CEO. The aircraft deployed is one of three
Boeing 747 Combi aircraft taken into operation to establish an air bridge with China, which is of enormous strategic importance to the Netherlands. What may have been inconceivable at the
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Each week, around seven Cargo-in-Cabin flights depart for Shanghai. More than 90% of the aircraft’s load consists of face masks. Additionally, other medical supplies including surgical gloves and gowns are carried back. In total, KLM has so far carried more than 80,000 boxes and more than 85 million face masks. Aside from its humanitarian contribution, harnessing the Cargo-in-Cabin concept during a time of crisis has been the perfect way to generate extra income. After the call was issued by Inflight Services and Flight Operations, numerous colleagues expressed an interest in becoming Cargo-in-Cabin coordinators since they were temporarily idle because of the crisis. This made it possible to scale up the number of Cargo-in-Cabin flights, bringing the number of flights operated to the important milestone of 100 flights. Elbers said: “The crisis impacting us and the aviation sector is unparalleled and KLM is facing enormous challenges. “In my opinion, the Cargo-in-Cabin concept symbolises the resilience, creativity and flexibility of our employees, who work day in, day out, to keep our business running.”
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AirBridgeCargo Airlines saddles up for new normal AIRBRIDGECARGO Airlines (ABC), part of Volga-Dnepr Group, successfully delivered three thoroughbred horses from Beijing to Moscow in co-operation with Gandikap company. Two Andalusian stud horses and one Orlov Trotter horse, weighing over 1,500 kg in total, were comfortably positioned in a special horse container which meets all IATA LAR container requirements and guarantees the well-being of the animals during the whole flight. The animals were returning home after a four-year road tour. With strict COVID-19 restrictions being in place in China, ABC team has managed to organise transportation without a groom, as it should be normally the case upon live animals’ delivery. The company has followed step-by-step
customer’s instructions, minimising loading procedures and guaranteeing seamless access to the horses’ owner within Sheremetyevo International Airport premises. Petr Novozhenov, regional director, Russia and CIS of AirBridgeCargo Airlines, comments: “We have always been committed to high-quality services for live animals’ transportation. With additional restrictions, transportation without grooms seemed like an impossible task, however, we face difficulties head-on and, upon thor-
ough fine-tuning of all the stages, the transportation has been accomplished. Thanks to dedication and experience of our sales team in the region who are accustomed to multitasking and challenging projects, the horses got first-class treatment.” ABC, being one of the leading carriers in special cargo transportations, has been strengthening its expertise in live animals’ transportations through industry training of its personnel, co-operation with reliable and trust-worthy partners and workshops with stakeholders. With horses being among ‘frequent flyers’ of cargo carriers, the company has a proven track-record delivering over 1,500 horses over the previous five years.
Emirates to operate A380 to Amman
EMIRATES will be providing more options and choice for its customers in Jordan with the introduction of scheduled Airbus A380 services to Amman as part of its expanded schedule of 10 weekly services. The expanded flight schedule between Dubai and Amman demonstrates the airline's commitment to safely connect customers to and through Dubai to the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific. The iconic A380 will begin serving Amman from November 4. The airline currently
operates the A380 to Cairo, Paris, London Heathrow, Guangzhou and Moscow. Cargo can be flown on the Emirates A380 from Dubai to Amman three times a week on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Emirates flight EK 903 will depart Dubai at 14:05 and arrive in Amman at 15:30 local time. The return flight, EK 904 will depart Amman at 17:10 and arrive in Dubai at 22:00 local time. The expanded schedule also includes flights EK 905 and EK 906. Emirates flight EK 905 will depart Dubai at 22:15 and arrive in Amman at 23:40.
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NEWS Emirates grows reach in Southern Africa
EMIRATES and Airlink have announced an interline agreement, widening Emirates’ reach into Southern Africa as countries begin opening their borders. Emirates’ agreement with Airlink will provide enhanced connectivity via its gateways Johannesburg and Cape Town to more than 25 domestic destinations in South Africa and more than 20 regional destinations in Southern Africa. Sir Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline commented on the newly formed partnership: “Emirates is pleased to partner with Airlink on a new interline agreement that will help us strengthen our presence across 45 cities in Southern Africa. “
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Strike Aviation ready to transport COVID-19 vaccine LITHUANIA-based Strike Aviation has completed installation of innovative IT solutions that will not only allow the company to enter new markets more quickly but will also enable it to join in the provision of COVID-19 vaccine delivery services as soon as a vaccine is ready. “The global aviation market has suffered an unprecedented shock this year. Many planes were grounded, and remain there, due
to the pandemic, with not just passenger aviation but also cargo transport by air disrupted. We made a decision to use the big stagnation period that was seen in the first two months of the quarantine to deploy an innovative IT system, especially since we realised that the changes in the aviation market were long-term and we would have to adapt. We have now completed installation of the new system and are fully
ready to react flexibly to market signals and, as soon as the need arises, to contribute to the timely delivery of COVID-19 vaccines wherever needed in the world,” says Andrius Antanaitis, the managing director of Strike Aviation LT. Having already dealt with the practical challenges of transporting sensitive items, the company is now ready for the next, more complicated stage which awaits when COVID-19 vaccines need to be shipped. Building the new IT system involved adapting one of the world’s best-known customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, Salesforce, to Strike Aviation’s needs. The significant IT system upgrade will let Strike Aviation react more effectively to volatility in the market, respond faster and more flexibly to client needs, and improve both internal communication with employees and offices and external communication with clients. The
company calculates that the new system will speed up internal communication by 25% and communication with clients by about 20%. “We can safely say it was here in Vilnius that this globally recognised tool was tailored to all the Strike Aviation group’s needs. The solutions implemented in Vilnius and already proven on the Baltic market will also be used in other world markets where Strike Aviation operates,” Antanaitis says. The Strike Aviation group operates in 26 countries of the world. Following deployment of the new system, entry to several new markets is planned in the near future.
100th KLM Cargo-in-Cabin flight takes place IN recent months, more than 150 KLM employees have worked hard on the airline’s Cargo-in-Cabin concept. KLM has deployed this innovative, forward-looking cargo concept to transport more than 85 million face masks in the fight against COVID-19. On Thursday, October 15, the 100th Cargo-in-Cabin flight departed for Shanghai, accompanied by Pieter Elbers, KLM president and CEO. The aircraft deployed is one of three Boeing 747 Combi aircraft taken into operation to establish an air bridge with China, which is of enormous strategic importance to the Netherlands.
Wozniak joins Burns & McDonnell with air cargo expertise
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acility design and construction leader Andy Wozniak has joined Burns & McDonnell to lead the Global Facilities Group in Chicago. Wozniak will spearhead the delivery and continued growth of integrated design and construction services for a diverse range of industries, including air cargo and institutional and commercial facility solutions.
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UAM, AAM, DRONE AND UAV – WHAT’S IN A NAME? THESE days, people refer to them as “drones”, says Ed De Reyes, chairman and chief executive officer, Sabrewing Aircraft Company, Inc. But drones are not Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and UAM isn’t an Unmanned Air Vehicle. So why all the fuss about names? Well to begin with one segment of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) has been around for over 100 years. This presentation will explain the differences – and why such differences are more than just a name. De Reyes is a retired USAir Force veteran, serial entrepreneur and inventor, with several patents and patents-pending to his name. Several of the key technologies that De Reyes has developed are directly related to the field of aviation – including a patent for a unique liquid-nitrogen-powered turbine engine that does not combust any fuel at all. In February of 2018, De Reyes retired as an experimental test pilot and flight test engineer, having worked for several companies, including McDonnell Douglas, Aerotest, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Cobalt, Elytron, and Moller International to name a few. He has also served as the chief technology officer for a carbon capture and storage start-up based on technology that he invented. Manufacturer of the world’s first heavy-lift, eVTOL cargo UAV, Sabrewing’s cargo aircraft can fly higher, further and faster than state-of-the-art regional cargo carrier aircraft, yet only cost a fraction of the cost to maintain and operate manned cargo aircraft. The ONLINE Unmanned Cargo Aircraft Conference aims to bring together manufacturers, operators, knowledge institutes, consultants, shippers and governmental organisations active in the upcoming field of unmanned cargo aircraft.
ONLINE UNMANNED CARGO AIRCRAFT CONFERENCE unmannedcargoaircraftconference.com 8 December 2020, ONLINE , 17:30 - 20:30 (5:30 PM 8:30 PM) Central European Time (CET) €85.00
NEW TECHNOLOGY: DRONES
JAL and Matternet to launch drone delivery business partnership
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apan Airlines (JAL) and Matternet signed an MOU to assess drone delivery healthcare opportunities and develop a future drone healthcare delivery business in Japan utilising Matternet’s world-leading M2 urban drone logistics platform. Due to the lack of delivery personnel and the impact of the global pandemic, the necessity to respond to changes in the logistics industry has become more urgent than ever before and the use of drones may help realise automatic, contactless delivery services on remote islands, mountainous areas and even within the city. Since last year, JAL has been conducting demonstrations on transporting relief supplies through various trials within Japan. Currently, in order to develop logistics services using drones, JAL is studying the feasibility for the commercialisation of such services with various companies and hospitals. Through this partnership, Matternet will conduct a joint research project with JAL in Japan, as the company continues to expand its commercial business globally. Further, JAL will consider to deploy the Matternet M2 drone system in the drone logistics business development project of Tokyo to possibly develop a sustainable business model. Matternet is the leading developer of on-demand, autonomous, urban drone logistics systems for transporting medical items across distributed healthcare networks, providing its technology platform-as-a-service to healthcare and logistics organisations. Matternet has launched successful drone networks around the world and received regulatory approval from the Swiss Federal
Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) and US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct fully-autonomous Beyond Line of Sight operations and Flights Over People to transport critical, high-value medical items. To date, Matternet technology has enabled 10,000+ commercial revenue drone flights.
Fast and predictable “We are very excited to expand our operations to Asia and partner with JAL to show the incredible impact of drone delivery to Japan’s cities, starting with the Tokyo metropolitan area,” said Andreas Raptopoulos, CEO of Matternet. “Matternet’s drone delivery platform enables extremely fast and predictable transport of urgent items and stands to revolutionise how healthcare and e-commerce are delivered in cities and megacities around the world.” “Japan Airlines is eager to explore the future of its air logistics business with the implementation of drone delivery,” said Tomohiro Nishihata, Japan Airlines’ managing executive officer of Innovation. “We aim to contribute to improving healthcare and solving logistics issues through our partnership with Matternet.” JAL aims to develop a new type of service in the air transportation industry, utilising new UAV technology, by delivering the operational platform in New Air mobility and achieve key sustainable development goals.
Delivery drones instead of postal vans? Study reveals drones still consume too much energy
WHEN delivering parcels, drones often have a poorer energy balance than traditional delivery vans, as shown by a new study conducted at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. In densely populated areas, drones consume comparatively high amounts of energy and their range is strongly influenced by wind conditions. In rural areas, however, they may be able to compete with diesel-powered delivery vans. The study has been published in the journal “Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment”. During the Corona pandemic many people are increasingly ordering online instead of going into shops. More and more parcels
are being shipped, pushing many delivery services to the limits of their capacity. One possible solution are drones that can automatedly deliver parcels to customers from a delivery depot. What sounds like science fiction could soon become reality: “Google, DHL and Amazon have been experimenting with this concept for several years and launched the first commercial pilot projects in the USA and Australia in 2019,” says Dr Thomas Kirschstein from MLU’s department of Production and Logistics. “When evaluating the hypothetical use of delivery drones, attention has frequently only been on whether drones could deliver parcels faster and cheaper. Sustainability aspects, on the other hand, played less of a
role,” explains the economist. In the study, Kirschstein compared the energy consumption of drones with that of the diesel-powered delivery vans and electric transport vehicles currently used by parcel carriers. In a simulation, he hoped to discover which vehicle had, under which circumstances, the best energy balance. Basing his calculations on the greater Berlin area, he played through several scenarios. “Among other things, we investigated how the number of parcels per stop and the traffic situation impacted energy consumption,” the researcher explains. He expanded his calculations to include the emissions produced through the genera-
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tion of electricity or the [burning] of diesel. Initially, a trend became evident across all scenarios: electric vans were significantly more economical than diesel vans, consuming up to 50% less energy. “This is not surprising for an urban setting: In cities, vans have to drive slowly and stop and start a lot. Here, electric vehicles consume significantly less energy,” says Kirschstein. These factors are not relevant, of course, for drones. Instead, wind conditions play a crucial role in how they perform. If there is a crosswind, for example, more energy must be expended to keep the drone on course. On the other hand, headwinds or tailwinds can even have a slightly positive effect on energy consumption.
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