ACW 31st August 20 by Azura International

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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,096

31 August 2020

BRAZIL: ON FIRE AT A TIME OF CORONAVIRUS

CARGOLUX FLIES AID TO BEIRUT

argolux has provided Free of Charge (FOC) pro bono transport for medical relief material destined to medical personnel in Beirut, Lebanon, following the explosion that devasted the city earlier this month. The shipment, organised in co-operation with Fedex, was flown from Memphis to Luxembourg on Sunday August 23 and boarded a Cargolux freighter bound for the Middle East on Monday August 24. The flight carried a total of 62 tonnes of emergency supplies to the Lebanese capital. As Richard Forson, president and CEO, highlights: “It was important for Cargolux to support this relief shipment and assist the people of Beirut in the aftermath of this terrible explosion. “As a recognised leader in the transport of medical and pharmaceutical goods, we are proud to leverage this expertise to help those affected by this tragedy.”

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INSIDE LEJ: DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH

EUROPE’S fifth-largest cargo hub, Leipzig/Halle Airport, is continuing to register above-average growth, in contrast to the general ... PAGE 2

SCOOT MODIFIES A320

WITH stringent border control measures in place due to COVID-19 causing a reduction in passenger flights, there has been a severe decline ... PAGE 3 SWISSPORT IMPLEMENTS FAIR@LINK

IN November 2020, Swissport will open a new air freight hall at the airport in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The enterprise employs state-of-the-art ... PAGE 6

Damco’s Lebanon team gets operations running DAMCO’s Beirut-based team, working with the forwarder’s Business Resilience (BR) Program, had operations in Lebanon back up and running within 24 hours of this month’s devastating blast at the Port of Beirut. Staff at the freight forwarder’s headquarters in The Hague were able to rapidly assess the safety and welfare of the Lebanon team thanks to communication channels put in place as part of the Program.

Supported by the global DAMCO team working with the BR Program, the Beirut team relocated all office functions to its warehouse facility in Dekwaneh. “The immediate concern was what is the status of the team members,” said Zera Zheng, head of DAMCO Business Resilience and Security. “Our office was badly damaged in the blast, but fortunately there were only a few minor injuries across the

team, and we were able to work on getting our processes operational as swiftly as possible. “It is thanks to the perseverance of the local team and our BR Program that office operations were up and running within 24 hours.” “Our thoughts are with all of those who have suffered as a result of this terrible accident,” said Saskia Groenin’t-Woud, CEO DAMCO. “We are incredibly proud of our

team in Beirut for tenaciously keeping our customer’s supply chains moving.” DAMCO’s Lebanon staff escaped the blast with only minor injuries, with the global team offering assistance to employees and their families. The blast on August 4 2020 occured when fireworks stored in a warehouse caught fire and detonated 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate causing at least 180 deaths, 6,000 injuries and $10-15 billion in damage.

A SPORTING LIFE

GLOBAL air charter specialist, Chapman Freeborn, says sports travel could be the fastest-growing sector in the industry next year ... PAGE 7

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Leipzig/Halle: double-digit growth in July

Vistara to operate special LHR flights VISTARA, a joint venture of Tata group and Singapore Airlines, will operate special, non-stop flights between Delhi and London Heathrow until September 30 2020, marking its foray in long-haul international operations. The flights have been introduced as part of the bilateral ‘transport bubble’ formed between India and the UK. During the period, Vistara will fly thrice a week between the two cities on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The airline will deploy its brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on the route. The airline also received its second Dreamliner aircraft recently, further strengthening its fleet to operate more such long-haul flights and

American to offer more than 1,000 cargo-only flights WHEN American Airlines relaunched cargo-only flights in March, its cargo team started with 20 strategic flights to two key destinations. This September, its cargo-only schedule will total more than 1,000 flights serving 32 cities; a plan that began as an experiment has now grown exponentially over the last six months. By more than doubling its cargo-only flying compared to August, American Airlines Cargo is able to meet customer needs amidst a time of record demand. Since being reintroduced, American’s cargo-only flights — which had not been operated in more than 35 years — have moved more than 45 million pounds of cargo around the world. American has changed greatly since its last Boeing 747 freighter landed in 1984, so team members from the airline’s cargo, network planning and operations teams joined forces to write a new strategy. The plan would allow American Airlines Cargo to better serve its shippers despite a decreased passenger flight schedule caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “We didn’t have a playbook. We’d never done this before,” said Maulin Vakil, American’s director of cargo revenue at the time. “We began to explore how much cargo we could take if we couldn’t transport passengers.” After walking through doz-

ens of what-if scenarios, team members discovered it would be possible to successfully fly regularly-scheduled long haul service with nothing but cargo in the aircraft’s belly.

Final push The final push to plan American’s resumption of cargo-only service came as the COVID-19 outbreak progressed and the vast majority of passenger air travel to Asia and Europe was suspended. On March 17, the team that had originally explored the possibility of cargo-only flying was called to put their plan in motion. After exploring their options, the group began planning a cargo-only flight from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Frankfurt (FRA) scheduled for Friday, March 20. While figuring out the safety, logistics and economics of the flight was a challenge, team members were prepared for the test. Crews were briefed, safety procedures were established, and international rules were carefully followed. Four days after the team set their plan into motion, American operated a Boeing 777-300 from DFW to FRA as its first cargo-only flight of the 21st century. With the flight to FRA a success, American began operating cargo-only flights to Hong Kong (HKG) shortly after. A few weeks later, team members planned safe and efficient ways to serve Shanghai (PVG),

Beijing (PEK) and Seoul (ICN). Many of these flights deliver PPE and medical supplies from Asia to U.S. soil, as well as mail, clothing and hard goods. “We essentially started our own little airline,” said Tom Howard, a manager at American’s Integrated Operations Center, who led the development of the operation. “We had to build all of this out and coordinate how it flows with our scheduled passenger service because, well, we’re a passenger airline.” Dennis Fiddler, a customer service manager at American’s cargo facility in Miami, added: “It’s satisfying to know that we are both keeping American in the air and keeping the world economy afloat. We ensure countries are able to supply others with essential supplies. Although it feels like our borders are further apart because of COVID-19, our team is able to shorten that distance during this time of need.”

EUROPE’S fifth-largest cargo hub, Leipzig/Halle Airport, is continuing to register above-average growth, in contrast to the general negative trend for air freight volumes in Germany. The amount of airfreight handled in July, for example, rose by 17.6% to a figure of 122,727 tonnes in comparison with the same month in the previous year. Air cargo volumes increased by 6% between January and July in comparison to the previous year and rose to a figure of 765,583 tonnes. With more than 1,000 take-offs and landings involving freight traffic every week, the airport is proving to be a bedrock for reliable logistics and supply chains for the general population and industry during the COVID-19 crisis. The airport has also handled dozens of aid flights, for example, which have transported medical equipment to Germany and Europe. Overall, about 60 cargo airlines make use of the airport and serve a network of routes that covers more than 200 destinations around the globe. This growth is supported by the express freight business operated by DHL and the positive developments in volumes handled by other airfreight and logistics companies.

expand its international operations. Vistara is also seeking necessary regulatory approvals to soon operate similar special flights to Paris, France and Frankfurt, Germany. Leslie Thng, CEO, Vistara, said: “As the world starts opening up in a phased manner following an extended global lockdown, these special flights give us the privilege of facilitating travel between the two countries. We are confident that travellers will appreciate having the choice of flying India’s only fivestar airline to and from London, which also upholds the highest standards of safety and hygiene. “The arrival of our second Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner further strengthens our fleet and underlines our commitment to expanding globally. There is an inherent need for an Indian carrier with modern fleet, world-class cabin products and onboard service to fly non-stop on long-haul routes. Our Dreamliner aircraft help us distinguish our offering and give us a competitive edge in the market,” added Thng.

Bee Logistics charter AN-124

Digitalisation and government policy to drive Indian logistics post-COVID-19

BEE Logistics of Vietnam has recently handled many air charter flights to Europe and Australia but are “pleased” to share a most special flight of an Antonov-124. The cargo was handled by Bee Logistics from India to Vietnam by chartered AN-124 aircraft, Mumbai to Cam Ranh (BOM-CXR). They co-ordinated with all parties to meet the requirements of the customer on time. Sandy at Bee Logistics comments: “Although COVID-19 is a big issue in both countries, our teams did their best to safely and successfully complete all supervision, customs clearance and deliver the shipment to the job site at night.”

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FROST & Sullivan’s analysis, Post-Pandemic Growth Opportunity Analysis of the Indian Logistics Industry, reports that while the strict containment measures in the country have ensured that the sector will witness only marginal growth in 2020, they have also created new opportunities for digitalisation across the logistics value chain. Digitalisation and technology adoption is expected to gain traction during the post-pandemic recovery phase, which is expected to drive the Indian logistics industry to grow at a significant CAGR of 7.2% between 2019 and 2025. “Digitisation, automation and robotics are expected to transform the value chain with digital platform-based freight solutions, logis-

tics process automation, and last-mile delivery solutions,” said Senthil Kumar Subbiah, supply chain and logistics practice industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

Virus transfer “The integration of computing devices enables interoperability by linking people, processes and data without any physical movement. Reducing human intervention at various steps of the supply chain can be a game-changer during a pandemic or similar crisis. For instance, owing to the fears of virus transfer while handling voluminous paperwork by multiple parties, Indian Customs has mandated the usage of a single-window sys-

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Test flights What initially started as a few test flights became a dependable service for customers as demand continues to grow. This September, more than 1,000 scheduled cargo-only flights will be accompanied by more than 1,200 passenger flights also offering cargo services, giving Cargo customers access to more than 2,200 flights in the month.

tem for the transfer of export documentation.” Subbiah added: “A key factor driving the post-COVID-19 recovery of the sector is the proposed logistics policy by the Government of India. “The policy aims to eliminate inefficiencies and reduce costs by removing bottlenecks in the logistics value chain. Logistics costs associated with Customs and border clearance are expected to decline. “The development of cold storage infrastructure and the adoption of digital technologies would reduce costs associated with warehousing operations. “The policy is expected to streamline trade and investment processes in India, resulting in an improvement in export competitiveness.”

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Xwing debuts world’s first fully autonomous air cargo flight

wing has successfully executed numerous passenger-carrying autonomous take-off to landing flights in a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. After operating in stealth since 2016, Xwing is announcing its regional operations model, focused on distances within a 500 mile range. The company has obtained a Part 135 Air Carrier certificate and will look to start commercial cargo flight operations in the coming months. Xwing expects to deploy its technology to market more quickly by operating its own fleet, but is open to future partnership and licensing opportunities with other operators to make the technology more widely available.

Air transportation is facing a low supply and high demand market. According to the FAA, the industry has suffered a 30% reduction in qualified pilots over the last 30 years. Meanwhile, the advent of next-day shipping has put immense pressure on companies resulting in high transportation costs and supply chain challenges. Despite these shortages, the infrastructure to support a more efficient air cargo industry already exists but is largely underutilised. Xwing’s Autoflight System retrofits existing aircraft to convert planes into optionally piloted vehicles by integrating with onboard flight control systems that allow the aircraft to navigate, take off and land autonomously. The system is designed to be supervised by remote operators who work with air traffic controllers to ensure safety throughout the flight. “The future of air transportation is autonomous,” said Marc Piette, CEO and founder of Xwing. “We believe the path to full autonomy begins with the air cargo market, and involves remote operators supervising fleets of unmanned aircraft. Focusing on Detect-and-Avoid systems, Xwing is more than a year into NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) programme, and has been working with the FAA to obtain certification for unmanned 9,000lb Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft with cargo capacity of over 4,000lbs, as they are extensively used for regional cargo and humanitarian missions throughout the world.”

FREIGHT REMAINED STRONG IN JULY AT ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL

THE COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact operations at Ontario International Airport (ONT) in July as passenger volume decreased by more than 60% while air freight shipments increased nearly 27% compared to July last year. Ontario has been a focal point in the Southern California supply chain network throughout the pandemic as local residents have increasingly relied on e-Commerce to supply their households, leading to higher cargo volumes through ONT. Since the onset of the pandemic, ONT has recorded five straight months of better

than 20% increases in cargo tonnage. In July, commercial freight totalled more than 79,400 tonnes, an increase of 26.9% from the same month a year ago. In the first seven months of the year, ONT processed more than 500,000 tonnes of air freight, 21.2% more than the same period in 2019. “These are extraordinary times for the air travel industry and airports around the world, including Ontario, are feeling the brunt of the impact of the coronavirus,” said Mark Thorpe, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority.

“Though air travel is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon, freight shipments are a great insurance policy for ONT, and we expect they will continue to be a source of strength and optimism for the rest of this year and into the next.” The number of passengers who travelled through ONT in July totalled more than 176,000, 64% lower than July 2019, though an improvement over recent months. More than 172,600 were domestic passengers while the number of international customers was over 3,600, decreases of 63% and 86% respectively.

WFP air service supports COVID-19 Gollcher joins WACO logistics system response in remote Pacific islands VALLETTA-HEADQUARTERED Gollcher Group has been named by The WACO System (WACO) as its new member for Malta. Gollcher, a family-run enterprise founded in 1854, offers global logistics services and operates a warehouse based at Hal Far between Malta Freeport and Malta International Airport. “Gollcher has been a cornerstone of the Maltese freight forwarding industry for several generations and their expertise in the Mediterranean region will benefit all members of the WACO community,” said Richard Charles, chief executive officer at WACO. “As a part of WACO, Gollcher will now have ac-

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cess to a worldwide network of logistic solutions providers and our members can utilise the range of services provided by Gollcher including airfreight, ocean freight and warehousing.” Gollcher provides airfreight, ocean freight, trucking, warehousing, and door to door services covering general commodities, hazardous cargo, project cargo, perishables, pharmaceuticals, live animals, motor vehicles and more. Mark Gollcher, executive director of the Gollcher Group, said: “We are delighted to have joined the WACO network and look forward to our cooperation with the member companies to leverage our joint strengths and further develop our trade lanes.” Gollcher holds Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status, as well as ISO 9001:2015 and IATA accreditations.

THE Pacific humanitarian air service launched a flight, delivering some 6.5 tonnes of essential medical cargo and moving humanitarian personnel to support the COVID-19 response in Fiji, Kiribati and Nauru. The flight departed Brisbane, Australia, with a stop in Nadi, Fiji, then Kiribati and Nauru. Cargo on-board included PPE such as face shields, masks, surgical gowns, as well as ventilators and testing cartridges, transported on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kiribati, the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Australian Government. “With border closures and quarantine restrictions continuing to stress supply chains across the region, WFP is proud to be able to serve the Pacific Island community by coordinating and delivering this much needed service and is grateful to the US and Australian Governments whose funding will ensure the viability of this service for months to come.” said Jo Pilgrim, director of WFP’s Pacific Multi-Country Office. “The Pacific Humanitarian Air Service is an example of the entire UN system and key partners coming together to respond to a pandemic that has affected us all; but it has

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affected some more than others,” said Sanaka Samarasinha, UN resident co-ordinator for ten countries in the Pacific. “Our priority is to be able to get humanitarian assistance to the most remote parts of the region. With closed borders a reality for many countries in the Pacific, these Humanitarian flights provide life-saving equipment and personnel at a time when Small Island Developing States would otherwise not have reliable access to transportation and delivery.” WFP’s Pacific humanitarian air service supports the work of the Pacific Humanitarian Pathway on COVID-19 - a regional coordination platform established by the 18 countries of the Pacific Islands Forum to facilitate timely and rapid movement of medical and humanitarian assistance across the region. It is also part of the greater Pacific Humanitarian Team COVID-19 Response Plan – a comprehensive regional response plan that seeks to consolidate efforts by UN agencies, governments, regional and multilateral organisations, NGOs, donors and development partners.

ACW September features If you would like to make an editorial contribution to any of the features shown below, please contact the Editor, James Graham on +44 (0)1737 645777 or email: james.graham@ azurainternational.com for further information. For marketing and advertising opportunities, please contact our sales team at: sales@azurainternational.com or on telephone number +44 (0)1737 645777.

an airline flight number. Recent experience of closed borders in many markets have been headaches for RFS businesses.

Sept 28 NEW TECHNOLOGY (TRACK & TRACE)

Sept 7 PHARMA

fter a decade of advance in the movement of drugs and vaccines by aircraft, never has the shipment of pharma products been more important. Over the next few months, a vaccine to assist in the fight against the global coronavirus pandemic is likely to be developed. Already, TIACA and pharma.aero are looking at ways of handling a COVID-19 vaccine.

E-COMMERCE

lectronic commerce or e-commerce (sometimes written as eCommerce) is a business model that lets firms and individuals buy and sell things over the internet. E-commerce operates in all four of the following major market segments: Business to business; Business to consumer; Consumer to consumer; Consumer to business.

n the distribution and logistics field track and trace is defined as the process of identifying past and current locations of inventory items. This inventory should be tracked at any level from ingredient to finished product and anywhere in between. Track and trace processes are supported through a variety of supply chain management technologies that help to provide real-time information on both location and status of these items as they move throughout the supply chain.

WORLD AIRPORTS

raffic might be significantly down at many of the world’s most important airports but things are looking up. Passengers, and hence belly hold, is slowly coming back. Within a few months, will cargo aprons be returning to normal levels of freight?

Sept 14 UK & IRELAND

he pandemic is stealing the headlines but Brexit has not gone away. With one country in the EU and the other a for-

mer member, what does Brexit mean for the industry in both states?

ULDS

he box that built airfreight. Its simplicity hides the face that without the ULD airfreight would grind to a halt. It allows a large quantity of cargo to be bundled into a single unit. New products still come to the multi-million dollar ULD market.

Sept 21 ASIA

amously dubbed the ‘factory of the world’, in normal times the Asia-Pacific region generates about a third of global air cargo carryings according to IATA figures – it is in effect a barometer for the industry globally. But these are not normal times. News from this region has never been more important.

ROAD FEEDER SERVICES

service offered by a scheduled cargo operator to move its carried goods to and from the aircraft and/or terminal by road service. It allows a carrier to offer services to a city to which it does not fly aircraft. Some such services are allocated

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ACW 31 AUGUST 2020

EUROPEAN CARGO

Swissport implements FAIR@LINK in Frankfurt

n November 2020, Swissport will open a new air freight hall at the airport in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The enterprise employs state-of-the-art technology. Inside the hall, an automated system will ensure efficient cargo handling. Swissport is using the digitalised processes of FAIR@Link to manage the access of trucks. Swissport Cargo Services Deutschland is currently constructing the ultra-modern air freight hall in Frankfurt Cargo City Süd. The freight hall is equipped with the latest technology. Unit load devices are stored and retrieved by an automated material handling system. A large

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photovoltaic system has been installed on the roof to supply the building with green energy. A secure fence with a centralised entrance and exit area surrounds the entire site. The new hall also sets standards in terms of access control: to guarantee efficient, automated handling of the trucks picking up and delivering, Swissport relies on FAIR@Link’s “slot booking procedure.” “Frankfurt is the most important air freight location in Germany. With the new hall - in airport jargon, FRA544 - we are increasing our storage capacity by about 40 percent,” explains Swissport project manager Mirjam Sladkowski. “The space and the location of FRA544 enable

us to expand our customer portfolio. We expect freight volume to increase again in the medium-term, and with it the number of pick-ups and deliveries. All traffic is to be routed through our central entrance. For this reason, efficient and automated traffic management is of prime importance to us; there should no longer be any trucks waiting either in front of or on the premises. For this reason, we will introduce slot booking via FAIR@Link for all deliveries and pick-ups starting when the system goes into operation in November 2020.” Using FAIR@Link, Swissport receives information about all planned pick-up and delivery trucks at an early stage, allowing them to plan resources accordingly and avoid peaks, as well as to avoid the risk of congestion at check-in counters and ramps. The necessary checks can be carried out in advance, so that only a comparison of target/actual data needs to be made when the drivers arrive with the goods. “It is crucial that all partners involved book their slots via FAIR@Link and adhere to the ground rules. This is the only way we can guarantee fast and streamlined handling processes for all parties involved, since there won’t be many extra parking spaces for waiting trucks, either in front of or behind the barrier,” emphasises Sladkowski. The procedure for booking slots via FAIR@ Link is simple. Before the trucks’ departure, companies reserve time slots in FAIR@Link for their handling and are then processed during

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those designated slots, without wait time. Equipped with a QR code and/or pin, which they receive automatically from FAIR@Link along with the slot confirmation, the driver approaches the entrance barrier of the Swissport premises, scans the QR code or enters the PIN - on their tablet, directly from the driver’s cab. After an automated check whether the QR code or PIN and the driver’s arrival time match the booked slot, the gate opens, the vehicle can drive through and the handling process can begin as planned. FAIR@Link will soon support two important additional transport operations for Swissport, namely the management of empty containers (ULD = Unit Load Devices) and road feeder services. Sladkowski is looking forward to the date of commissioning of the new hall in November 2020 with confidence: “The decisive factor for the success and acceptance of the new air freight hall is that all areas are coordinated with each other and form an innovative holistic picture. This includes not only the modern infrastructure and cutting-edge technology, but also the optimized management of all traffic. The slot booking via FAIR@Link with SMS service allows us increased flexibility in communication with the carriers and, together with the management modules for ULD and road feeder services, overall smooth logistics processes along our entire logistics value chain.”

A SPORTING LIFE

GLOBAL air charter specialist, Chapman Freeborn, says sports travel could be the fastest-growing sector in the industry next year thanks to a packed calendar of high profile events, plus new health protocols imposed by governing bodies and federations.

Sports travel is tipped to be the fastest growing sector in the air charter industry in 2021 thanks to a bumper year of high-profile events plus new health protocols imposed by governing bodies and federations. Major events postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic during 2020, including the Olympics, golf’s Ryder Cup and soccer’s Euro 2020 and Copa America, have been moved back 12 months. That means squeezing them into a calendar which already included an Ashes cricket tour, a British Lions rugby tour, a T20 Cricket World Cup and the usual array of Super Bowl, tennis Grand Slams, NBA Finals, Champions League, Premier League and golfing majors. The hope in the air charter industry is that teams, corporate sponsors and even fans (once they are eventually allowed back into stadia) will choose to charter rather than travel with a scheduled airline in a bid to have greater control over timings, destinations and health risks. At Chapman Freeborn, a global aircraft charter specialist which was first established in 1973, the opportunity has prompted the appointment of its first-ever group director of sport. Former cricketer Nick Lamb took on the role in August 2020 and has high hopes for the future. “When you look at the schedule, 2021 has the potential to be a fantastic year for sport and also for our industry,” he said. “Chapman Freeborn has been heavily involved in sport before, but we see it as potentially the fastest-growing sector in the charter industry with real room for growth.” It is not only the number of major tournaments taking place which provides an opportunity for passenger air charter. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to sports teams and organisations being far more aware of the health risks around travel and determined to keep their players in a bubble. Lamb added: “Only recently UEFA, the governing body for European football, provided a long list of protocols for teams travelling to Portugal for the Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. “It included an edict that the use of charter flights was ‘strongly recommended’, which highlights the way forward for sports teams when travelling abroad. “The benefit for teams, and for sports organisations, federations and corporate sponsors, is that chartering a flight enables people to stay together in their bubble without the need for public interaction at the air terminal or on the plane. “It is also possible to personalise health and safety measures on board – whether that is

leaving empty seats between passengers, extra personal protective equipment, such as visors, for the crew or a COVID-19 kit for passengers including personal mask, gloves and anti-bacterial wipes.” The prospect of fans travelling by charter is also a possibility – if, and when, restrictions are lifted on spectators attending sporting fixtures. Lamb said: “Nobody knows when that will happen but you’d like to think that fans will be back inside stadia at some point; and for clubs, sponsors or travel companies organising group fan travel the same advantages of chartering apply. “Even if we have to wait longer for fans to return, however, the market for teams is going to be significant. From our point of view, and from a sporting point of view, 2021 is a big year.”

2021: The bumper year of sport calendar: January 18-31: Australian Open tennis January-March: India v England Test February: South Africa v Australia Test February 7: Super Bowl, American Football February 14: NBA, All-Stars Game February-March: Six Nations rugby February-March: Women’s ODI World cup, cricket, New Zealand March: Formula One season begins, global calendar April: US Masters, golf, Georgia US, tbc May 24-June 6: French Open, tennis, Paris May: US PGA Championship, golf, South Carolina US, date tbc May 29: Champions League Final, soccer, Istanbul June: NBA Finals, basketball, US, date tbc June 11-July 11: Euro 2020 finals, soccer, across Europe June 11-July 11: Copa America, soccer, Argentina and Colombia June 17-20: US Open, Golf, California June 28-July 11: Wimbledon July 23-August 3: Olympics, Japan July 2-August 7: British & Irish Lions Tour, rugby union, South Africa July 15-18: The Open, golf, Kent, UK August 24-September 5: Paralympics, Japan Aug-Sept: US Open tennis September 24-26: Ryder Cup golf, USA Oct-Nov: ICC T20 World Cup, cricket, November-January 2022: The Ashes

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ACW 31 AUGUST 2020

Cargo and Other Stories by Lemon Queen

Cargo in the blood Audrey Serdjebi

he crisis is continuing. We have zero visibility and the situation is becoming increasingly difficult for some of our colleagues. I’m thinking of our Brazilian friends, who are in the headlines at the moment.

Portrait of Brazil

razil is being hit hard by the tragic situation in Latin America. Very recently, IATA has warned that Latin American airlines are suffering dire consequences from travel restrictions. And as we know, Aeromexico, Colombia’s Avianca and Chile’s LATAM Airlines Group have already filed for bankruptcy court protection. Peter Cerda, IATA vice president for the Americas, said that “If the restrictions or border closures persist when we are in September or October, it is possible that a large majority of our airlines will begin to disappear from our regions.” In such a situation, airlines would have six or seven months of inactivity due to the closures put in place to try to contain the pandemic, and it would then become “very difficult” and “complicated” for them to “survive”.

his denial of the severity of the situation reflects Bolsonaro’s desire to put the economy ahead of everything else. And despite the many critics of his handling of the health crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic, the Brazilian president’s popularity seems to be rising. “The political climate is a bit complicated, as the federal government faces some challenges with Congress and with the Supreme Court. On the other hand, the government has recently achieved its highest-ever approval levels due to a new social programme designed to support unemployed people.” says Joao Ferreira.

articularly in Brazil, as Joao Ferreira, head of BCS, a subsidiary GSA of ECS Group, confirms: “As most of the capacity from Brazil is related to the passenger side, airports such as GRU and GIG – not to mention those in the north-eastern area – have lost over 60% of flights. VCP was the only one without a major impact, being a freighter-oriented airport.” He adds: “Year on year, tonnage has fallen by over 60% as there is very limited capacity nowadays as a result of the flight cancellations. Some airlines have been trying to resume flights during August, but are already announcing cancellations for September. Brazilian passengers are still not allowed to enter the US and the EU, which are the major markets, so until this situation is clearer, it will be very hard to envision a recovery.”

the coronavirus pandemic, after the United States. The situation is continuing to worsen, with an ever-increasing number of new infections. The country has now exceeded three million cases and a tragic death toll of over 100,000.

few weeks ago, the Financial Times published a podcast entitled: “Brazil: a country without a plan”, reporting accusations that it has considered neither how to protect its population nor the world of the future. Countries led by effective governments will emerge from the crisis more united and more resilient, along with a society that is more empathetic and more certain of its ability to overcome the most difficult challenges, while Brazil is becoming even weaker, more divided and more uncertain. And Brazil is now the world’s second worst-affected country by

that have been starved of proper health investment for decades. We have seen amazing efforts deployed at state or local level to deal with the pandemic, but we also see a huge misalignment in guidelines, policies, and general approach between central government and the regions.” In fact, the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has roundly criticized all lockdown measures put in place by Brazil’s state governors, going so far as to describe them as “dictatorial”.

recently released study has shown that 37% of Brazilians have a positive opinion of Bolsonaro’s time in office. The president is now at his most popular since his inauguration, particularly in the north-east of the country – a poor, traditionally left-leaning region where a significant proportion of the population has received emergency assistance to overcome the pandemic.

aced with these terrible figures, a French NGO, Doctors without Borders (Médecins sans Frontières), has launched six emergency interventions across the country. Its teams witness situations that are often catastrophic, both in Amazonia and in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. “It is no coincidence that Brazil is suffering so acutely,” said Ana de Lemos, executive director of MSF Brazil. “COVID-19 is exposing a health system that is plagued with structural inequalities and exclusion from care for huge numbers of poor or homeless people, and for regions such as Amazonia

ut the pandemic isn’t the only tragedy currently sweeping Brazil: fires are becoming even more common. And let’s not forget that in some people’s view, the government’s management of the health crisis has allowed it to “create a diversion in order to conduct more deforestation.” According to Greenpeace, 4,731 km² of deforestation has taken place since the start of the year. Looking at the last 12 months, the annual increase stands at 34%. In the first 10 days of August, 10,136 fires broke out, according to official data compiled by Greenpeace. This is an increase of 17% compared to August 2019, when the images of the Amazon in flames shocked the entire world and provoked a diplomatic crisis between Brazil and France. Between a virus described by Bolsonaro as a “little flu” and the fires he has dismissed as “lies”, let’s hope that Brazil has the strength it needs.

Lemon Queen is an airfreight industry public relations and communications agency in Paris, France

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