ACW 4th October 21 by Azura International

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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,151

4 OCTOBER 2021

5 years and 400,000 tonnes

“IT DOESN’T FLY WITH US!” O

n September 22, 2021 – World Rhino Day – airports and airlines across the world came together to denounce the illegal wildlife trade and voice that they are on their guard against smuggling attempts. Over the last decade, almost 10,000 rhinos have been poached in Africa to fuel international demand for their horns. World Rhino Day provided a significant opportunity to focus attention on the illegal wildlife trade, its threat to species survival and what can be done about it. According to the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), rhino species are just five of the 6,000 species impacted by the illegal wildlife trade. A video which features aviation companies from South America,

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INSIDE

AIPUT ACQUIRES 75-ACRE SITE

AIPUT (Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust) managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), has completed the freehold ... PAGE 2

KUWAIT AIRWAYS SELECTS ATC

AS of September 1, 2021 ATC Aviation Services has represented Kuwait Airways as cargo GSSA in Czech Republic, Germany, ... PAGE 2

Africa, Asia and Europe is part of the Step Up to Stop Wildlife Trafficking campaign, run by the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership and United For Wildlife, a charity created by The Royal Foundation of the Duke of Cambridge. “Wildlife trafficking impacts air transport in every region of the world, and the aviation sector plays a key role in being part of the global solution,” remarks Crawford Allan, Leader of the ROUTES Partnership. “With this campaign, we celebrate aviation companies that are actively working to end illegal wildlife trade.” Since the ROUTES Partnership began operations in 2015, it has engaged with airports and airlines worldwide to offer training, data and

resources to support law enforcement in disrupting the illegal wildlife trade. The worldwide nature of this work is highlighted in the video with stakeholders in many different countries that are working hard behind the scenes to keep the illegal wildlife trade out of the skies. By joining together to say “it doesn’t fly with us!” these companies are making it known that they do not tolerate wildlife trafficking. And it goes beyond just words, as companies describe some of the actions they are taking to build defences against illegal wildlife trade, such as training staff to detect smuggling attempts and assessing which flight paths are most frequently used by wildlife criminals. A significant step airports and airlines can take in this fight is signing

the United for Wildlife Buckingham Palace Declaration. This agreement commits members of the transport sector to take defined steps to combat the illegal wildlife trade. Juliana Scavuzzi, senior director, sustainability, environmental protection, and legal affairs at ACI World says: “We celebrate airports’ wildlife trafficking prevention efforts. This crime can affect the sustainability of the aviation sector and the communities it serves. “Multisector collaboration such as this can support the UN Sustainable Development Goals while protecting biodiversity, preserving economic livelihoods, maintaining the rule of law and helping to avert the emergence and propagation of zoonotic diseases.”

FEDEX TEAMS UP WITH E-COMMERCE

FEDEX Express has unveiled a series of new integrations with leading e-Commerce technology platforms across the Asia Pacific region which ... PAGE 4

SMITHS DETECTION ENHANCES

SMITHS Detection, a global leader in threat detection and security screening technologies, has announced new product enhancements ... PAGE 4

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NEWS

Kuwait Airways selects ATC Aviation as cargo GSSA

FedEx delivers COVID-19 vaccines, test kits to Vietnam

edEx Express, one of the world’s who we are. In these times of need, we largest express transportation are committed to delivering these lifesavcompanies, delivered a shipment ing vaccines to move the world forward. of COVID-19 vaccines and test Since the beginning of 2020, FedEx has kits on September 23 from Hungary transported more than 13,800 humanto Vietnam on behalf of PATH, a global itarian aid shipments globally toward healthcare non-profit organisation. COVID-19 relief efforts,” said Kawal Preet, FedEx donated the shipping of these president, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and critical items to support the fight to end Africa region, FedEx Express. the pandemic. A shipment of 100,000 doses of Vast network COVID-19 vaccines and 100,000 pieces of antigen test kits onboard a FedEx aircraft “We will continue to use our vast netwere transported from Budapest, Hun- work for as long as it takes to assist with gary to Hanoi, Vietnam. COVID-19 efforts around the world.” “Making critical connections around “We are grateful to support this vacthe globe and delivering strength to cine shipment to assist in the country’s communities where our teams and cus- recovery, and deliver much needed hope AS of September 1, 2021 ATC Aviation Services has represented tomers live and work is what we do and to Vietnam.” said Hardy Diec, managKuwait Airways as cargo GSSA in Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland and Slovenia. The carrier has already a long-lasting successful partnership with ATC in Austria and the Netherlands. IPUT (Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust) managed Blackthorne Point The globally operating GSSA with 54 offices in 33 countries by Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), has com- Industrial Estate, will be responsible for all cargo sales in these countries. pleted the freehold acquisition of a 75-acre site to the where building of The national carrier of the State of Kuwait operates scheduled west of Heathrow Airport, adjacent to the Poyle Trad- a new speculative flights from Kuwait to the Middle and Far East, Indian subconti- ing Estate. The acquisition represents the largest strategic land 2,780 sq m warenent as well as Europe and North America with a current fleet of transaction in terms of acres in the area for over 20 years. house is under 30 aircrafts. The Kuwait Airways network includes 46 countries The site is located close to Junction 14 of the M25 and way for delivery in around the globe. Junction 4B of the M4, enjoying quick access to Heathrow Summer 2022.

ing director, operations, FedEx Express Indochina. “We are proud of our world-class team of healthcare experts who are working hard to ensure that these critical vaccines are delivered quickly and safely to Vietnam.” This shipment of vaccines and test kits is consistent with the company’s FedEx Cares 50 by 50 goal to positively impact 50 million people around the world by the company’s 50th anniversary in two years in 2023. Through the FedEx Cares “Delivering for Good” initiative, FedEx lends its global network and unparalleled logistics expertise to organisations with mission-critical needs and helps communities before, during and after crises.

AIPUT acquires 75-acre strategic site in west Heathrow

Further enhance Fayez Al-Enezi, director of public relations and media, Kuwait Airways stated: “Kuwait Airways is pleased to select ATC Aviation Services as our cargo GSSA from September 1 2021. The GSSA agreement with ATC Aviation Services enables us to further enhance and expand our services and activities related to cargo, assist in providing the highest service levels to customers, develop our business in the covered territories, as well as maintain Kuwait Airways’ reputation in terms of quality of services rendered.” Ingo Zimmer, CEO ATC Aviation Services (pictured): “We are excited to work with Kuwait Airways and together we will find the best solutions to grow the business with our common experience and industry knowledge. The fact that a single partner covers a bigger number of territories will ease communication and create synergies to fill capacities in both directions. Furthermore, for Europe a centralised capacity control optimises the space utilisation and revenue management.”

International Airport, west London and the Thames Valley. The extensive motorway network, enhanced by excellent public transport links, also provides access to the rest of the country and the south coast ports, reinforcing the site’s strategic objective to support the country’s supply chain network and resilience. This acquisition almost doubles the amount of land under AIPUT’s ownership around Heathrow Airport. It also represents a strong vote of confidence in Heathrow as a critical national infrastructure asset processing international trade and cross-border e-Commerce, as well as a vitally important economic catalyst locally and across the wider south east and Thames Valley region. The adjoining Poyle Trading Estate hosts AIPUT’s 15,500 sq m

AIPUT’s customers at Blackthorne Point include UPS Supply Chain, Flostream and CH Robinson Worldwide. Nick Smith, AIPUT fund manager, commented: “AIPUT is dedicated to owning and developing exceptional industrial logistics real assets that set new standards in design and sustainability performance that are, above all, highly appealing to the modern occupier and its staff. Securing this substantial and uber-rare strategic site represents a huge opportunity for AIPUT to leverage our scale, expertise and meticulous research to elevate and diversify the portfolio at pace. Our ambition here is to deliver Heathrow’s next generation of highly efficient, secure and sustainable logistics warehouses.

BIFA welcomes greater clarity on EU exit procedure revisions

ollowing on from a seminar held by the British International Freight Association (BIFA) to address some of the unfinished issues faced by the logistics industry following the UK’s departure from the EU, BIFA has welcomed the quick response from UK government to some of the many questions raised by participants. With an uncanny sense of timing the pre-arranged BIFA webinar entitled ‘EU Exit – Unfinished Business’ went ahead on September 15, less than 24 hours after the British government announced delays to implementing the regulatory

timetable for the UK’s exit from the EU. The revised timetable was hailed by the government as a common sense delay to allow shipping interests even more time to adapt to the post-Brexit world, but prompted a guarded response from BIFA members in the online discussion which included presentations from the trade association that represents the United Kingdom freight forwarding and logistics sector, as well as HMRC, DEFRA and French port authorities. The webinar, in which over 300 BIFA members participated, clarified some of what many still need to know, while

still raising a multitude of questions and queries. BIFA director general, Robert Keen, said: “It is pleasing that some of those promises are already being delivered, with updates and answers already being made available. “Many of the questions were about Safety and Security Declarations. We appreciate the government’s latest announcement that provides a document that consolidates all the information in one place, provides a level of detailed clarity that had been missing,” concluded Keen.

Christopher Rayner becomes Swissport chief HR officer CHRIS Rayner (left) will take over as chief HR officer and member of the executive leadership team on October 1. Andreas Hugener, Swissport‘s chief HR officer since February 2017 has decided to step down from his role. He informed the company of his desire several months ago to enable a smooth and seamless handover of his duties. “I am very pleased to welcome Chris Rayner to Swissport as our new chief human resources (HR) officer,” says Warwick Brady, president and CEO Swissport.

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“I want to thank Andreas for his four and a half years of service and his tremendous contribution to putting together the new global Swissport management team and driving the transformation of the company. “He has provided outstanding support to the chairman and myself. “While I regret his departure, I understand and respect the decision. On behalf of the executive team, I wish Andreas the very best for his professional and personal future,” says Brady.

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NEWS

Gebrüder Weiss: FEDEX EXPRESS TEAMS UP WITH myGW customer E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS portal is a success ONE year after the launch of its digital customer portal myGW, the logistics company Gebrüder Weiss says it has been a resounding success. The online tool already has over 12,000 users in 18 countries, with the benefits brought by it confirmed in an internal satisfaction survey (rating: 4.5 out of a possible five stars). The simple, fast, and transparent form of communication was highlighted here in particular: a single account can be used around the clock to handle all matters relating to transport and logistics orders. Wolfram Senger-Weiss, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss, sees the positive feedback from customers as confirmation that the right step was taken at the right time: “The coronavirus pandemic has changed so much in our usual working environment. myGW is our way of providing transparency and enhanced access to our customers. “By allowing our customers to stay in the loop on our operations they can use this information to make informed decisions. By having flexible online access to all Gebrüder Weiss services, regardless of whether customers are working from home or in the office; they always have access to real-time information on when goods will be delivered (ETA). “Our focus in the future will be on further developing the portal to support specific market and target group needs so we can continue adding value for our customers.”

Top performance The logistics company gave the go-ahead for myGW in September 2020, starting in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Other countries quickly followed, and the group-wide rollout is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Gebrüder Weiss describes the launch of its customer portal as an important step within its digitalisation strategy; this aims to combine operational and digital best practices to maintain quality leadership in the logistics industry.

KALE LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS APPOINTS CHANDE AS CFO KALE Logistics Solutions has appointed Pawan Chande as its new chief financial officer (CFO), effective from September 1 2021. As CFO, Chande will lead the divisions of finance, legal, and investor relationships at Kale. He brings to the role more than 25 years of experience in finance, leadership, and strategy positions at multinational companies across a range of industries, most recently as CFO of employee recognition company OC Tanner. “I look forward to bringing my passion for value creation and continuous improvement to the table at Kale Logistics Solutions,” said Chande. “My previous experience gives me a great platform to identify opportunities to enhance process efficiencies, grow productivity, and increase bottom line profits.” He has previously worked for Jacobs Engineering and AF Ferguson & Co .

ACW 4 OCTOBER 2021

FEDEX Express has unveiled a series of new integrations with leading e-Commerce technology platforms across the Asia Pacific region which will substantially benefit e-Tailers or e-Commerce sellers. This development comes at a time when small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are seeing significant demand for e-Commerce services and day-definite international express delivery services, especially with the upcoming year-end peak season.

Changing consumer behaviour Changing consumer behaviour resulting from the pandemic is spurring online transactions and e-Commerce growth like never before. The Asia Pacific region is generating nearly two-thirds (64%) of global e-commerce spending. Just as shoppers have switched to purchasing online, so have businesses. More retailers are increasing their investment and engagement in online channels to capture consumer demand, resulting in increased demand for logistics support. According to McKinsey, the Asia e-Commerce logistics market will account for 57% of total market growth from 2020 to 2025. FedEx is responding to the increasing needs from e-Commerce businesses through the company’s innovative Compatible and Alliances programmes. These two programmes enable e-Tailers to gain instant access to enhanced and affordable shipping solutions, allowing them to sell effortlessly on e-Commerce platforms. Under the FedEx Compatible programme, FedEx customers can generate FedEx shipping labels and use additional FedEx features, such as Express Shipping Services and International Shipping Documentation Service, without leaving the e-Commerce or marketplace platforms. This simple and easy-to-follow integration of FedEx and platform/ marketplace accounts enables e-Tailers easy and automated access to process orders. In addition, e-Tailers on marketplaces will also benefit from exclusive discounts on FedEx rates under the Compatible programme. To date, FedEx has integrated with 17 platforms, allowing hundreds of thousands of e-merchants across Asia Pacific direct access to FedEx services, using their FedEx account number, to manage ship-

ments and grow cross-border their e-Commerce business. At the same time, the Alliances programme allows all partners in the e-Commerce ecosystem, including online shipping providers, to offer their e-Tailer customers direct access to FedEx services at favourable rates.

Helping e-Tailers “The e-Commerce sector has only become stronger as a result of the pandemic, leapfrogging traditional commerce by as much as five times. As the holiday season approaches, consumers are spending even more online. To help e-Tailers tap the growing demand, we are making our services more accessible to e-Tailers and SMEs globally,” said Kawal Preet, president, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa Region, FedEx Express. “Our collaboration with leading e-commerce platforms is an important step toward building a robust e-commerce ecosystem where small businesses can enjoy the same services as large retail brands, thereby levelling the playing field. We look forward to collaborating with more like-minded partners to provide sustainable solutions at scale and further propel the entire e-Commerce value chain.”

SMITHS DETECTION ENHANCES SCREENING PORTFOLIO SMITHS Detection, a global leader in threat detection and security screening technologies, has announced new product enhancements within the HISCAN product range. Smiths Detection has launched a 0.5 m/s belt speed HI-SCAN 100100V-2, designed to meet the demands of fast turnaround, high volume air cargo applications for accelerated security screening, delivering the highest performance with the smallest physical footprint. The new model, which is expected to be added to the ‘Qualified’ section of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Air Cargo Screening Technology List (ACSTL) soon, allows for increased and more efficient throughput for express forwarders, mail screening and ecommerce and can also be utilised at mass transit checkpoints. It offers dual-view screening for shorter inspection times, with a 200kg conveyor load to support break bulk cargo screening and a 1010 x 1010mm tunnel for easily handling out of gauge baggage. Existing HI-SCAN 100100V-2is installations can be upgraded to meet the new specifications. The ECAC compliant technology can also be integrated into material handling systems and connected to centralised screening applications for increased efficiency. It can be further enhanced by iCMORE automated threat/target identification software for lithium batteries and weapons to increase security. Smiths Detection is also rolling out its iCMORE weapons capability for the HI-SCAN 7555aTiX and the HI-SCAN 100100V-2is and T-2is. iCMORE Weapons is part of the iCMORE range of smart and adaptable object recognition algorithms offering automatic detection of an ever expanding list of dangerous, prohibited, and contraband goods. Detecting handguns, gun parts, ammunition, as well as flick and fixed-

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blade knives, iCMORE Weapons was developed for aviation and urban security checkpoints. Enhancing these HI-SCAN systems with iCMORE Weapons enables greater efficiency, safety and security while efficiently supporting image analysts. Richard Thompson, global director aviation, Smiths Detection said: “We are delighted to be delivering enhanced capabilities for our HI-SCAN series with the launch of the new highspeed HI-SCAN 100100V-2is, which addresses the cargo sector’s need for speed and efficiency, and the rollout of automatic weapons detection across three HI-SCAN systems. The security screening process cannot be foregone, so implementing automated detection solutions is invaluable for enhancing the smooth flow of people and goods and more effectively tackling threats.”

CVG: Ready for take off CINCINNATI/NORTHERN Kentucky International Airport (CVG) is undergoing a cargo make-over, putting it on track to become the sixth largest cargo airport in North America. The airport’s strategic focus to leverage its location and hundreds of acres of available land, create efficiencies for the air cargo supply chain and support air cargo partners is paying off with more than five years of record-breaking cargo growth 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. CVG is also home to global air cargo hubs for DHL and Amazon Air. In five years CVG will be the epicentre of e-Commerce says Candace McGraw, CEO, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. “We will be a catalyst for even greater economic impact on our local economy with the development of Hangar Row. Through this, we will continue to grow and diversify our air cargo operations. We plan to leverage aircraft maintenance and support services on and around our airport campus. We will also implement a regional aviation development plan.”

Big stakeholders The airport’s central US location, its land available for development (airport property totals 7,700 acres), ample airfield and airspace capacity and four runways, teamed with the agile, business-minded decision making of management, make CVG an attractive location for big stakeholders to take up residence. Amazon Air’s global cargo hub is currently under development and will open this year. Amazon’s cargo operations have been in full swing since May 2017 and the carrier is a big force in the overall growth of the airport. DHL Express has also seen significant growth since it established one of its three global super hubs at CVG in 2013. Atlas Air and its subsidiaries are major contractors for DHL and Amazon. The company recently established a new 100 sq ft, $34 million operations centre adjacent to CVG’s campus to sup-

NEWS

port existing business and future growth. Adding to this, an aircraft maintenance hangar developed by Lynxs for FEAM Aero opened in 2020 to service wide-body aircraft. All of this cargo activity is taking place on the south end of CVG’s campus, McGraw reports, but she notes general cargo activity is seeing an increase as well. A new general use cargo facility was built by Aeroterm in 2019 on the north end of the campus with FedEx as the anchor tenant.

Transformational impact “CVG’s cargo growth is having a transformational impact on the Cincinnati region. We know there is an immediate economic impact from the expansion projects themselves, $360m by DHL since 2009 and $1.5bn in progress from Amazon,” explains McGraw. “DHL and Amazon alone have hired several thousand additional employees over the last two years. We have also experienced growth on our campus with MRO operations, both construction and employment. “Off campus, a number of companies have relocated to our region because of CVG’s cargo growth. Chief of those is Atlas Air who constructed and staffed a $34 million operations centre near the airport.” As it has globally, air cargo has been of utmost importance in the US throughout the pandemic. Cargo has been immensely

important to us in our bottom line throughout the pandemic. It literally helped us keep our lights on. Because we have diversified our operations throughout the last ten years, we have been able to weather the storm,” McGraw says.

Cargo landed weight “During the early parts of the pandemic, cargo landed weight was around 75% while landed weight from passenger operations were at 25%. Prior to the pandemic in 2019, we saw 55% cargo and 45% passenger. For the balance of 2021, we are forecasting 65% cargo and 35% passenger.”

ACW 4 OCTOBER 2021

AUSTRALASIA

“Cargo will always be an important part of Air New Zealand” Air New Zealand general manager cargo Anna Palairet talks to ACW

ACW: New Zealand has had a unique approach to lockdown. Has this affected air cargo operations? Anna Palairet: Given the Maintaining International Air Connectivity (MIAC) scheme set up by the New Zealand Government, the various lockdowns New Zealand has been through have largely not impacted our international services, albeit sometimes the resulting reduced domestic schedule has impacted regional connectivity to the international gateways in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. It is another tip of the hat to the MIAC scheme, its structure and how crit-

ical it is for New Zealand exporters and importers. To put this year into perspective, we have carried 12.1 million kilogrammes of fresh produce, 4.2 million kilogrammes of chilled meat, 2.3 million kilogrammes of chilled salmon, along with over 50 vaccine shipments to the Pacific Islands. All in all, we operated 7,191 international cargo flights, carrying an impressive 104,572 tonnes. ACW: How has Air New Zealand coped with the decrease in passenger demand? Palairet: In response to the decline in passenger demand on our network and border closures in 2020, we scaled back, as many airlines did, to only 12 international flights per week. We pivoted our cargo business almost immediately to a cargo-only charter model. We operated our first charter on March 30 2020, and over the 10 weeks thereafter operated over 250 cargo-only charter rotations to North America, Australia, and Asia, including at one point, double daily services into Shanghai

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which brought the initial loads of PPE equipment into New Zealand as part of the country’s pandemic response. In May 2020, the IAFC scheme was introduced (now known as MIAC) and continues to run today. We are incredibly grateful for the government’s support under the MIAC scheme, which has meant we’ve been able to keep goods flowing from New Zealand to the world and vice versa. ACW: How has Air New Zealand’s business strategy changed with the drop in demand for passenger services? Has cargo taken on a new importance? Palairet: Cargo will always be an important part of Air New Zealand and export airfreight will always be an important part of connecting New Zealand’s exporters with the world, particularly with our high-quality aquaculture, meat and dairy, and horticulture industries which rely on cool-chain and speed to market, for freshness and shelf-life. What remains central to our thinking is our purpose of enriching our country by connecting New Zealand to the world, and our

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promise of manaaki, which is about taking care more than any other airline. ACW: How has Air New Zealand utilised ‘preighters’? Palairet: Our entire long-haul international network is currently operating 787-900 passenger aircraft with many services operating as cargo-only. We have been operating this way since May 2020. ACW: What routes have been added or continued during the pandemic and why? Palairet: Benefitting from the New Zealand Government assisted Cargo scheme (MIAC) we’ve been able to keep operating our international network, maintaining connectivity for the New Zealand import and export community and helping to bring home more than 70,000 Kiwis in the last year. There hasn’t been a single day where an Air New Zealand flight hasn’t taken off. We’ve launched three new cargo routes, one from Christchurch to Guangzhou supported by the MIAC scheme and two to Los Angeles from Brisbane and Melbourne through the Australian freight scheme, IFAM. ACW: Has Air New Zealand

been involved in vaccine transportation? Palairet: We have carried shipments of the COVID vaccines into New Zealand and also into the Pacific Islands. These shipments do have a need to maintain temperature integrity, although that is largely achieved through the packaging of the goods as piece-level. As such our role in the supply chain is to ensure that critical deadlines are met and that shipments are uplifted as they are booked. We’re proud to be playing a part in helping our Pacific neighbours in their fight against COVID-19. ACW: When NZ opens up again what steps will Air NZ take to get back to ‘normal’ operations? What routes will be restarted first, why? Palairet: Work is well underway around the airline planning for our inaugural flight to New York, with a team working to get this route up and running next year. Through the Maintaining International Connectivity scheme, we have kept flying our international network so it will be a relatively easy process to open these flights up to passengers when it’s safe to do so.

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Pharmaceuticals

5 years and 400,000 tonnes

In September 2016, Emirates SkyCargo raised the bar

mirates SkyCargo is marking an important operational milestone. Five years ago, in September 2016, Emirates SkyCargo raised the bar in the air cargo industry for the safe and efficient transport of pharmaceuticals by launching its dedicated GDP certified pharma handling facility at Dubai International Airport and at the same time unveiling its three-tiered specialised product - Emirates Pharma. Nabil Sultan, Emirates divisional senior vice president, cargo, said: “At Emirates SkyCargo, we recognised very early on that our customers were looking for increasingly specialised solutions for their cargo and this was true especially for valuable and life-saving medicines that have to be transported under very strict conditions. After extensive planning and significant investment to our infrastructure, processes and people, we introduced our 360-degree transportation solution backed by state of the art GDP certified Dubai handling facility for our pharma customers in September 2016. The response from the market was overwhelmingly positive and we managed to very quickly transform the perception that Dubai was a destination to be avoided for pharma cargo in the summer to that of Dubai being a reliable hub for pharma customers all year round. Our pharma volumes have continued to grow over the years and to date we have transported more than 400 million kilos of pharma cargo under our Emirates Pharma umbrella.”

Hub Dubai Emirates SkyCargo has over 20,000 sq m of GDP compliant storage and handling space at its hub in Dubai processing close to 200,000 kilos of pharmaceuticals every single day comprising vaccines, biologics, medicines for illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and a range of other medical treatments. Emirates SkyCargo pharma operations in Dubai have undergone rigorous eval-

uation for compliance to GDP guidelines by Bureau Veritas, Germany including two full certification cycles involving multiple certification and surveillance audits. Emirates SkyCargo’s pharma operations have also successfully undergone multiple audits conducted by customers and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The carrier has one of the world’s largest fleet of Cool Dolleis which help maintain cargo at a stable temperature between aircraft and terminal. Close to 50 of these Cool Dollies are dedicated for pharmaceutical cargo. Emirates SkyCargo also works with a number of specialised container providers in order to offer customers a better choice and fit for their shipping needs. The establishment of the hub for pharmaceuticals at Dubai has facilitated the rapid and secure transport of pharmaceutical products from manufacturing locations to end destinations. Over the years, the carrier has been able to connect increasing volumes of pharma cargo between markets spread across six continents including India, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, UK, Russia, United States, Brazil, Australia, Korea, Japan, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Nearly one third of the total pharma cargo exported on Emirates SkyCargo every year originates from India. Emirates SkyCargo has also worked with ground handlers across more than 35 leading pharma origin and destination airports to ensure high standards of pharma handling from origin to destination. In Chicago, one of the major pharma stations in the Emirates SkyCargo network, the carrier worked closely with the local ground handler for developing a GDP certified airside pharmaceutical handling facility spread over 1000 sq m. Pharma operations at Copenhagen, another important pharma station were also moved to a dedicated GDP certified facility in 2019. During the pandemic, it became even more essential for Emirates SkyCargo to main-

tain the supply chain across the world for pharmaceutical products, for treatment of COVID-19 and other illnesses. By deploying an increasing number of cargo only flights on passenger aircraft, Emirates SkyCargo offered continued connectivity for the transport of urgently required pharmaceuticals.

The carrier also entered into an MoU with UNICEF to facilitate the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in support of the COVAX facility for equitable distribution of vaccines. In May 2021, Emirates SkyCargo set up the Emirates India Humanitarian Airbridge and donated cargo capacity to transport supplies.

Sultan: We introduced our 360-degree transportation solution

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