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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1 • A I R L O G I S T I C S I N T E R N AT I O N A L
www.airlogisticsinternational.com
February 2021
09 DISTRIBUTION
Moving the vaccine
22 PAYMENT OPTIONS
Online monetary solutions
31 CARGO SECURITY
Are vaccines a prime target?
36 END OF YEAR SURVEY
Will 2020 be the year to forget?
Space age
Conversions market snapshot
Connecting the air cargo community
TSA MEET ECAC
QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE
STANDARD
EMIS series ®
EMIS 130200 FOR PALLETIZED CARGO
AUTOMATIC SCREENING
FOR NON-METALLIC
CARGO
INSPECTION OF PACKAGES
AND PALLETS OF EMIS 8075 FOR PACKAGE INSPECTION
Perishable goods and flowers
Paper products
Textiles and Clothing
Plastic and wooden products
AUTOMATIC DETECTION LOW COST NO DEDICATED
& HIGH THROUGHPUT OF OWNERSHIP OPERATOR
T +39 0575 4181
E infosecurity@ceia-spa.com
W www.ceia.net/security/emis
ISSUE 1 / VOLUME 4 FEBRUARY 2021 CONTENTS
12 16 31
MANAGING EDITOR
Alwyn Brice
tel: +44 1322 221144
e-mail: alwyn@airlogisticsinternational.com
DEPUTY EDITOR
Felicity Stredder
tel: +44 1322 221144
e-mail: felicity@airlogisticsinternational.com
DESIGNER
Heather Woodley
tel: +44 1322 221144
e-mail: heather.woodley@markallengroup.com
36
PRODUCTION
Nicki McKenna
tel: +44 1322 221144
e-mail: sejal.patel@markallengroup.com
COMMMERCIAL MANAGER
Anthony Smith
tel: +44 1322 221144
e-mail: anthony.smith@markallengroup.com
PUBLISHER
Marc Young
tel: +44 1322 221144
e-mail: marc@groundhandling.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Stanley Chao, Thorsten Neumann, Holly Stewart and
Lionel van der Walt
Air Logistics International is published in
February, April, June, August, October & 5 Editor’s welcome 22 Payment options
December. Subscription rate per year applies to UK
and overseas:
Trade sanctions really have no Forget cash - online payments are
Qualifying subscription: £64 or ¤92 or US$100 place in a world wrestling with a being increasingly adopted, says
Non-industry subscription: £170 or ¤240 or
US$250 pandemic, reckons the Editor PayCargo’s Lionel van der Walt
6 Logistics update 24 Chinese economy
Qatar Cargo pulls out the stops; Stanley Chao on the emergence of
Dutch backtrack on levy; digital China from the ashes
progress at Dallas Fort Worth
28 Conversions update
www.markallengroup.com 9 Distribution The Editor with a round-up of news
The sector agrees that rolling out from this specialist sector
Published by MA Business the COVID vaccine will be a major
31 Cargo security
a Mark Allen Group Company
Hawley Mill, undertaking. The Editor considers
Hawley Road,
Dartford, a new report on the topic TAPA’s Thorsten Neumann
Kent DA2 7TJ. Tel: 01322 221144 provides an update on criminal
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER MARK ALLEN GROUP
Jon Benson
12 World analysis activity in the COVID vaccine
tel: +44 1322 221144 Alwyn Brice reviews the Middle supply chain
e-mail: jon.benson@markallengroup.com
East over the last 12 months
© 2021. All rights reserved. No part of Air Logistics International 34 E-commerce forecast
16 Industry interview
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, Predictions from the integrators on
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the Publisher. Felicity Stredder talks to Delta how 2021 will shape up
The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the
editor or the Air Logistics International. Advertisements in the
Cargo’s Rob Walpole about his new
journal do not imply endorsement of the products or services
advertised.
role and the carrier’s strategies 36 End of year survey
Front cover courtesy of Precision Conversions
The Editor examines a recent
Print - ISSN 2633-2450
21 Integrator focus XOP Logistics study on retailers,
Online - ISSN 2633-2469 Holly Stewart charts the progress consumers and third party
Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, NP122YA of the big names during 2020 providers in the US and the UK
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2021 3
WELCOME
EDITOR’S
What goes around…
H
ave you ever noticed how life is full of little ironies?
Here we are, paused at the biggest crossroads that the world has
ever faced. Forget living memory – what’s happening at the moment
in terms of the pandemic is unprecedented. Full stop.
Bit by bit the world has built up a comprehensive communications and
travel network that has now contributed to the greatest bacterial threat that
mankind has ever faced. Yes, the Black Death, smallpox, the Bubonic Plague
and others decimated millions between them, but their sphere of operation
was limited. The aviation sector, in a sense, is reaping what it has sowed.
Move on to the spat between the US and China that has occupied the
headlines through most of 2020. Tariffs and snubbing the Far Eastern
manufacturing hub were designed as protectionist measures and, allegedly,
were a means of curtailing the latter’s prominence on the world stage. And
yes, the levies were not welcome – but fast forward to December 2020,
and what does one find? American demand for Chinese goods that was
seemingly boundless. In fact, Chinese exports to the US in November last
were up by over 46%.
MISSION Trade war? What trade war?
STATEMENT The loser in this scenario has been the cargo sector, which has been
inundated with demand which it has struggled to fulfil. Why? Because there
ALI comes from the
same team responsible has been less capacity, something that has been occasioned by the pandemic
for the well-established stalling passenger flights.
titles of Ground Handling It’s a vicious circle.
International and Ramp
The irony now, as 2021 gets underway, is that vaccine distribution will
Equipment News. As
such, it builds on over be shackled by the self-same capacity problem. That, and difficulties in the
20 years of industry finishing stage, which is the point that bottling comes into the equation.
experience and, with More glass is needed – and that means a cargo transportation requirement.
a comprehensive and
skilled team of writers Add to that the vaccines which require special, sub-zero containment, and
based in both Europe the problem is simply exacerbated.
and the US, aims to bring In retrospect, intercontinental trade sanctions and tariffs suddenly seem
the reader up to date
petty in the extreme.
with the world of air
transportation. Alwyn Brice, Managing Editor
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2021 5
LOGISTICS
UPDATE
AN ILL WIND
FOR SOME
One unwelcome knock-on effect of
the current pandemic, and all that it
entails, has been the escalation in
charges for freight transportation and
cargo handling.
Forwarders have slammed
increases levied by Worldwide Flight
Services in particular, calling the new
tariffs “monstrous” and complaining
that the service offered is not worth
the increases; fewer staff and
Airfreight donation a success
problems of readiness have simply
exacerbated the situation. Quoting
rates of around £2,500 for a ten tonne
A
s part of the “1 project of Qatar Airways this project, ensuring that shipment, forwarders have pointed out
million kilos” Cargo, under the terms of UNICEF cargo was safely that they are effectively being held to
charitable initiative, which the airline donated transported to the UNICEF ransom, since their options are limited.
Kuehne+Nagel and Qatar a million kilogrammes of Global Supply Hub in In its defence, WFS has said that
Airways Cargo have been freight for humanitarian Copenhagen, Denmark. The it continues to invest in technology to
donating airfreight services aid including medical various essential supplies, assist the sector and that the onset of
to UNICEF, supporting the supplies until the end of including protective the pandemic had occasioned it much
agency’s global efforts in the 2020. The kilogramme offer equipment, were an more (unexpected) expense in order to
fight against the COVID-19 was allocated to freight important part of UNICEF’s comply with safety regulations.
pandemic. forwarders to give to the efforts to keep health At the time of writing it was
Triggered by the crisis, the charities of their choice. workers safe so that they understood that WFS’ latest tariffs
initiative is part of the larger Kuehne+Nagel joined could continue to deliver exceeded those of handlers dnata,
sustainability “We Qare” Qatar Airways Cargo in quality care. Menzies and Swissport.
DUTCH VOLTE-FACE DRY ICE PROTOCOLS
L
ate last year it looked as aircraft, they argued, were not With vaccine distribution kept at about -94º C and dry
if the Dutch government necessarily bigger polluters now well underway, in a ice is the only widely available
would be levying a tax compared with their smaller safety alert the FAA has urged material that will maintain
on freighters in Holland, siblings. Added to this is the caution and awareness in its that temperature.
according to their MTOW. irony that handling companies transportation, particularly The threat is that as the
However, a study into the typically look to optimise where the packaging dry ice sublimates (or moves
impact of the proposed tax cargo loads, with maximum requirement is one of dry ice. from a solid to the gaseous
revealed the short-sightedness capacity the overall goal: The situation has seen cargo state), it might overwhelm
of the concept, with in so doing, they would be carriers loading up aircraft the ventilation system on an
opponents pointing out that effectively penalised. with up to five times as much aircraft and threaten the crew.
any introduction of such a tax The Dutch government dry ice than they would The issue is even more acute
would merely oblige aircraft subsequently backtracked on normally be allowed to carry. on aircraft because the dry ice
to relocate to other airports. its proposals and instead said With the recent approvals sublimates faster in lower air
Moreover, analysts also noted that it would work towards granted by various pressure. Inter alia, the FAA
that this environmental tax a freighter tax that would be governments for use and recommends the installation
was skewed, citing that the introduced at a European level. distribution of the vaccine, of CO2 detectors and ensuring
MTOW ignored the most The amended bill also included dry ice has been one main key that all air handling systems
important part of the equation, a recommended increase in to that effort. are in full operating condition
namely how green the aircraft a proposed tax on passengers Certain vaccines have to be before take-off.
was in the first place. Bigger taking international flights.
6 February 2021 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
CEVA in African expansion
CEVA Logistics’ strategic expansion plan across the African continent is further gathering in co-operation with its parent company the CMA CGM Group and contract logistics activities
pace, with the acquisition of ASTI Group in Morocco. CEVA Logistics and ASTI have been in both Casablanca and the Tangiers Free Zone. The new operation will be looking to
partners for more than two decades and have delivered a range of multi-modal services to capitalise on the strength of the automotive industry in the country, a vertical in which CEVA
customers across the North African country in that time. Logistics is a market leader.
CEVA Logistics will expand its range of export capabilities, specifically reefer services, ASTI is already a top ten logistics player in the Moroccan market.
Digital moves at Dallas Fort Worth
well as trucking companies, Nallian, added: “We are
empowering them to co- honoured to work with
ordinate their cross-company Dallas Fort Worth airport
processes. which is committed to raising
“Dallas Fort Worth the bar for innovation and
airport continues to focus excellence in air cargo. With
and invest in our cargo Nallian’s mission in mind - to
business. This new platform make the world operate as
makes processing cargo one - we are thrilled to see
more efficient by providing how our infrastructure also
accurate and timely empowers forward-thinking
information to our cargo airports such as Dallas and
community,” explained John their partners to leverage the
Ackerman, Executive Vice power of digitisation on a
President of Global Strategy global level.”
and Development at the This new application-
airport. “We are excited to based technology will
D
allas Fort Worth airport chain. Over time, this will work with Nallian and our reduce the amount of time
is using Nallian’s include freight forwarders, international airport partners and paperwork required for
cloud-based data shippers, ground handling to offer this digital platform cargo shipments coming
sharing platform for cargo agents, third party logistics to our cargo and logistics through the airport and is
customers, allowing seamless providers, airlines, Customs customers.” part of the airport’s digital
transactions across the supply and Border Protection, as Jean Verheyen, CEO at transformation strategy.
GEODIS OCN SERVICE
SET TO CONTINUE New facility at Manchester
G
eodis has announced Freight Forwarding of Dnata has opened a new, state-of-the 125,000 square foot of warehouse
the continuation of GEODIS, said: “Our art cargo complex, dnata City North, space and is capable of processing
its scheduled Own customers on both sides at Manchester airport. Representing in excess of 150,000 tonnes of cargo
Controlled Network service of the Atlantic have been an investment of over £30m, the annually. It is equipped with the latest
linking Europe and the suffering from a severe 150,000 square foot facility allows the technologies and complies with the
US. The current service, shortage of regular, company to significantly expand and highest industry standards, ensuring
providing three full rotations guaranteed air freight consolidate its Manchester operations. efficient and safe handling of all types
each week, has been options. We foresee this Particularly well-situated for ease of cargo, including pharmaceuticals,
confirmed throughout 2021. situation remaining for some of airfield access, dnata’s perishables, dangerous
With transatlantic time and so have committed purpose-built, on-airport goods, aircraft engines
airfreight capacity continuing resources to provide stability facility includes and vehicles.
to be tight and forecasted and assure the continuity of
to remain so well into 2021, our service through the full
GEODIS is contracting year of 2021.
freighters to operate within “As a critical element of
its OCN as part of its global our OCN programme, we can
AirDirect service offering. The ensure seamless end-to-end
2021 schedule is confirmed delivery through consistent
between Amsterdam Schiphol monitoring and control of
and Chicago O’Hare, with all shipments, including
three departures and three pharmaceuticals and medical
return flights a week. equipment, as well as vaccine
Eric Martin-Neuville, delivery as it becomes
Executive Vice President, available.”
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2021 7
LOGISTICS
UPDATE
HYBRID CONTAINER DEAL IN BRIEF
A
Vietjet has partnered with UPS for Asia-US pilot to showcase the benefits and
s 2020 closed, SkyCell and Air France KLM Martinair Cargo airfreight operations, but the low cost feasibility of the initiative.
signed a partnership agreement. The agreement set out the carrier has not given up on its long- The ONE Record project proposes a
reintroduction of hybrid containers for those shipping with standing ambition to have a freighter fleet. solution by defining a common API for
Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, supporting a push to increase the The Vietnamese airline said that all electronic platforms used by various
sustainability and safety of pharmaceutical shipments. the weekly service carried cargo stakeholders in the supply chain involved
The agreement coincided with the rising demand for greener including garments, seafood and medical in the data provisioning process. This
solutions and ambitious environmental goals set out by pharma commodities collected from Bangkok, Kuala standardises the data exchange protocol in
companies. As the pharma logistics industry pushes onwards with Lumpur and destinations across Vietnam. the air cargo industry and provides added
the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, sustainable solutions benefits of better data quality, control,
will be crucial, given the volume and global scale of the distribution Pharma.Aero has enlarged its membership transparency and ease of connectivity.
ahead. Since SkyCell’s solutions are able to secure products within a base with three new Full members – Dubai-
temperature range of 2-8°C and 15-25°C and now -70°C, SkyCell is based logistics and transportation services After the launch of a direct freighter
well-prepared for the varying needs of vaccines and other sensitive company First Priority Cargo, global 4PL service from Johannesburg to five African
pharmaceuticals. BDP International and Lima-based ground destinations in late November, Kenya
The deal with Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has marked part of handler SAASA (Servicios Aeroportuarios Airways Cargo began direct cargo flights
a shift towards the adoption of enhanced technological solutions to Andinos). Over the course of the last two from Moi International, Mombasa, to
meet both the demands of pandemic logistics and requirements of months, Pharma.Aero has signed up a total Sharjah. Initially a weekly flight, this is
environmental agreements. of eight new members. expected to gradually increase in frequency
and more destinations will be added.
EDIfly’s Aviation Messaging 2.0 has just
marked its tenth anniversary. Built from Amazon Air recently bought seven retired
scratch, it has developed into a household Delta Boeing 767 aircraft, along with four
name for messaging solutions for the WestJet aircraft for conversion purposes.
aviation industry. The initial four will be in operation within 12
Starting in the cargo arena, currently months. Elsewhere, it is preparing to open
more than one hundred EDIfly servers are a US$1.5bn air cargo hub at Cincinnati/
in operation at airlines, ground handlers, Northern Kentucky International airport.
airports, government agencies and
logistics centres. To support its local clients and be closer to
the high-growth Asia Pacific region, data
CHAMP Cargosystems, along with Qatar sharing specialist Nallian has opened up a
Airways Cargo and Agility, has completed new office in Singapore. Geert Van Brempt
the first phase of the IATA ONE Record has been appointed Managing Director.
APPOINTMENTS
In what has been a year of great change association’s 2020 Hall of Fame Recipient. worked for almost 20 years for the Ramirez, and Ken Nieze. Ramirez becomes
for the air cargo industry, Peter Gerber will company, of which the last two years he the new Global VP, Human Resources,
leave the position of Chief Executive of The new term of office for the Air Cargo spent as CEO. based at PayCargo’s Florida headquarters,
Lufthansa Cargo to take over at Brussels Community Executive Board will begin with while Nieze has been appointed VP of Sales,
Airlines. Gerber will become the Chief two new members. Susanne Klingler- In December at Delta Cargo, Shawn Cole West Coast, and will be based in Seattle.
Executive of the Belgian airline, which is Werner and Dr Pierre Dominique Prümm became the new Vice President Global
owned by Lufthansa, on March 1, taking have been elected to the committee for Sales, a newly created role focusing on Ashwin Bhat is to take over as Lufthansa
over from Dieter Vranckx. In turn, Dorothea the first time. Patrik O Tschirch will replace identifying enterprise-wide synergies with Cargo’s Chief Commercial Officer and member
von Boxberg will become the new Chief Harald Gloy as Chair. Delta’s portfolio of global corporate and of the executive board for the carrier’s
Executive and Chair of the executive board travel management companies. Separately, product and sales division on March 1.
of Lufthansa Cargo. World Freight Company announced that Rob Walpole was named VP Delta Cargo.
from November 23, 2020, Sebastiaan Jannie Davel has joined Delta Cargo as
Larry Coyne, CEO of Coyne Airways Scholte would become CEO of Kales Group. Online freight payment platform PayCargo Managing Director–Commercial and Vishal
and Coyne Aviation, has been selected Scholte takes over from Dirk Hazenoot, has appointed two new Vice Presidents Bhatnagar has been promoted to Managing
by TIACA’s Chairman’s Council as the who decided to step down after having to its senior management team: Marta E Director–Global Cargo Operations.
8 February 2021 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
DISTRIBUTION
DRUG
STORE
Logistics requirements for delivering the COVID-19 vaccine: what’s necessary? Here,
Ti’s Senior Analyst, Thomas Cullen, looks over a blueprint for a brave new world.
A
ccording to Ti’s recent supply chain, and thus the Vaccine characteristics and logistics
study (Logistics logistics resources required, will The report suggests that the logistics of production of mRNA (and
Requirements for the evolve over a short period of attenuated virus-vector vaccines) is probably less complex than
COVID-19 Vaccine), the time. Thus the critical nature of that of traditional attenuated ‘live’ virus and inactivated ‘dead’
distribution of vaccines for the deployment of the vaccine virus vaccines. Production lead times are shorter and any increase
COVID-19 will be a task of will be significant and therefore in production capacity is easier. At present, the most advanced
some, but not overwhelming, large volumes of vaccine will vaccines likely to be deployed are mRNA and attenuated virus-
size and complexity. It will be exported from production vector vaccines. In the case of mRNA vaccines, the ability of
tread a familiar path for centres in the UK, Belgium the RNA to replicate comparatively quickly and simply through
inoculation programmes in and the US. However, after a normal genetic processes enables rapid production with a less
both the developed and the fairly short period of time, new demanding production infrastructure.
developing world. The logistics production centres will open In the case of mRNA vaccines, the time between the
solutions are familiar and will up around the world, with the commencement of design and production is very compressed, with
use resources that are widely result that different logistics the major proviso that the efficacy and safety trials remain and are
available in almost all major solutions will be adopted. a substantial lag on the introduction of the vaccine.
economies; in fact, the report Theoretically, the longer- Virus-vector vaccines are slightly more complex. As their name
© Steak - stock.adobe.com
believes that the demand term prospect is that demand implies, they need an attenuated virus to deliver the RNA to the
for specialist resources will for COVID-19 vaccines will cell wall proteins, making the vaccine more complex. However,
be limited to areas such as moderate and the sources will this virus-vector is essentially a platform that delivers and actuates
packaging. Indeed, packaging broaden, suggesting a merging the cell in order to deliver the piece of RNA.
emerges as one of the pivotal of COVID-19 vaccines into Thus it can be seen that compared with traditional vaccines,
issues within the supply chain. the existing vaccine logistics new technology in vaccines has created a different environment
A further issue is that the channels. for supply chain management and logistics.
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2021 9
DISTRIBUTION
Vaccine production geography This will have important once the vaccine is decanted and exits any storage facility it will
At present, production locations implications for inventory and have a strict shelf life. This is complicated by the frozen state of any
are concentrated in Europe, transport strategy. mRNA vaccine, as shelf life is likely to be different once the vaccine
the US, China and possibly The study also references the is defrosted and brought to a temperature suitable for injection.
Russia. At the time of writing vaccine production capabilities The nature of demand for COVID-19 vaccines is more uncertain
the production base was being within India. Although the than might at first be imagined. For example, there exists
expanded to other locations extent of the disease is not uncertainty over the number and location of people to receive the
across the world, notably proportionately as intense vaccine.
France and Japan, with further as in many other regions, Although it is presumed that a substantial proportion of the
markets such as Brazil or this sub-continent has a very developed world populations will receive some type of vaccine,
Australia constructing their own large population and thus the there is, surprisingly, a strong likelihood that most people will not
production facilities. However, quantity of demand is likely to receive the vaccine. For example, the UK Vaccine Task Force has
the supply chain is likely to be very great. India possesses disclosed that its aim was to vaccinate just 30% of the population.
be effectively sourcing at the significant vaccine production Worth bearing in mind is the fact that vaccination campaigns
regional level and at the global capabilities, although this is are often short, seasonal operations lasting just a few weeks or
level; very advanced economies, focussed on traditional vaccine months. Activity can be intense and, combined with the shelf life
such as those of the UK or types (in common with most of constraints of the vaccine, a premium is thereby placed on the
US, will be largely utilising the rest of the world). speed of response. Consequently, we may see an intense period of
domestic production whilst activity and then a falling away.
other economies would look to Product profile and constraints Geography is another factor: aside from the irregular incidence
import production from global Needless to say, here shelf life of COVID-19, the seasonal nature of the disease also complicates
locations. is a key determinant of logistics the logistics operation.
© Dimitrios - stock.adobe.com
That said, both Europe and strategy within the vaccine
the US will have distribution supply chain. Although it Last mile considerations
patterns that are fairly standard appears that both mRNA and As with any logistics schedule, it’s the last part of the journey that
to the distribution of many attenuated virus-vector vaccine is the most critical. If that cannot be effected with precision and
industrial and consumer can be kept for several months timeliness, then what has gone before is essentially wasted. In the
products, with a central adjacent to production facilities case of sensitive drugs, the last mile takes on a new significance,
production facility capable of and, in the case of mRNA especially since the indications are that a follow-up injection will be
serving the entire continent. vaccine, at lower temperatures, required at some point after the first. Here, shelf life is everything,
10 February 2021 www.airlogisticsinternational.com... demand for
COVID-19 vaccines
will moderate
Thomas Cullen, Ti
temperature control vital and Fleets are leased or operated have a secondary function of increasing control over logistics
supporting equipment (needles by the manufacturers. operations. This is especially true with vaccines. In order to model
and the like) essential. These containers are heavy, the effectiveness of their operations, pharmaceutical companies
expensive, complex to manage can use the data they have generated through their information
Packaging strategy and need to be rented from systems. This results in supply chains that have somewhat higher
This is arguably the most specific operators but do offer levels of design than similar operations in other sectors; however,
important part of the whole a higher degree of security this effect should not be exaggerated, says the study.
operation. for consignments. Bearing in
The vaccine is put into vials mind the time and handling Transport strategies
which are boxed in cardboard; specifications of vaccines, Finally, what’s the best means of delivery?
the box has its own insulation there is a tendency to use At the tactical level, transport management is shaped by the
or cooler pack, typically active containers to a greater structure of the supply chain and in particular, production strategy.
containing CO2 and which can degree than usual in the rest of In terms of producing state-of-the art vaccines, there are relatively
be supplemented by further pharmaceutical logistics. few production facilities at present, although as discussed above,
injections of the gas. Step three this looks likely to develop throughout 2021.
involves putting the boxes The information supply chain The study’s findings point to road freight as likely to be a major
into a pallet shipper which An important characteristic resource for serving markets in North America and Europe. The
allows handling en masse of contemporary attractions of road freight solutions are considerable, not least that
and which can further help pharmaceutical supply of the integrity of the consignment. Moreover, any need for hub
with keeping the contents at chains is their investment in or trans-shipment facilities is negligible and normal packaging
the right temperature. Here, data generation capabilities. solutions are highly appropriate for road freight. Critically, it is a
the choice is either an active Central to this is the ability very cheap solution.
or passive solution, ranging to monitor the temperature Airfreight is often assumed to be the default solution for
from a simple, cardboard (or of consignments. The pharmaceuticals in general and vaccines in particular. It is
other material) container to monitoring of consignments presumed that it is faster to move consignments by air than by
the specialised refrigerated of all pharmaceuticals, but road or sea.
container commonly used especially vaccines, is now However, although there are strengths appertaining to
within the cargo sector. a salient requirement for all airfreight, there are also weaknesses. That said, the attraction
When it comes to packaging pharmaceutical companies. of airfreight for certain supply chains, such as globally sourced
proper, the choice falls into Evidence of the correct production, is very great, if not unparalleled. Chief in its favour is
active or passive options. handling of consignments must cost competitiveness for smaller volume, high value loads.
Passive packaging covers be produced in acceptance or Weaknesses include the frequent loading and unloading of the
various forms of cardboard and use of any pharmaceutical by consignment (hence the need for consignment integrity), together
other material boxes. Some of the end user. with a lower level of transparency and control. There is also
these are remarkably advanced, This is invariably in enforced reliance on a number of logistics service providers.
such as SkyCell, whose boxes electronic form and is in Finally, sea freight. The facility is very widely used by the
cool the consignment and effect, generated through pharma sector generally. However, because of its slower speed, sea
can be recharged in cooler the use of data loggers freight is less used for the movement of vaccines, not least as the
environments. These solutions inside or approximate to the shelf life constraints of vaccines are typically significantly more
are light, cheap and flexible. consignment. There are several restricted than many other pharmaceuticals. Nonetheless, for the
They are, however, perceived variations of this technology. movement of a large consignment, such a solution could have its
by some to be less reliable The more elaborate are active attractions. For example, combined with an air freight component,
than active solutions and less transmitters that provide vaccines could be moved into a region in large quantities and
appropriate for high value near real-time data to ‘control stored in a temperature-controlled box reefer. Such a facility could
and highly critical cargoes. towers’ operated by the hold sufficient volumes of vaccine to inoculate a substantial
They are, however, the pharmaceutical companies population.
dominant solution within the on a continental or even a
pharmaceutical sector. global basis. These systems Conclusion
Active packaging really are created by and are the The paper, in some respects, reveals no surprises. Vaccine
applies to refrigerated possession of pharmaceutical distribution began in early December 2020 and the media has
containers which are largely companies. They are rarely, if made much of the initial deliveries. Road, air and marine transport
used in the airfreight sector. ever, outsourced to third party facilities all have a role to play in this battle against the pandemic
These have a powered logistics providers. and for some countries, a combination of these transport modes
refrigeration unit within what Although these systems are will see the vaccine efficiently distributed. The good news, though,
is essentially a large multi-pallet designed to support regulatory is that the sector is well prepared for this huge undertaking, and
container. obligations, they may also has the necessary tools and equipment in place.
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2021 11ANALYSIS
WORLD
The Middle East
If the aviation sector changed down a gear or two during 2020, was the scenario
bleak for all? Alwyn Brice analyses how the Middle East fared.
M
any would like to efface 2020 from their memories. Yet, necessary measures in place for e-commerce volumes over
despite all the challenges, life continued – and cargo their protection. last year,” says Allaham, “and
aircraft still took to the air. “We also implemented certain markets had increases
According to Lubna Allaham of Etihad, the carrier’s cargo a work from home policy of over 50% compared to
arm was kept busy and operated over 90 charters to support the for the office staff and this the previous year, especially
global aid programme on behalf of the government. was supported by the great around the holiday seasons.”
“As a key stakeholder under the Hope consortium, we digitalisation efforts in which And what about 2021?
have transported millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses we had invested. Our online Was any change envisaged?
already. Our pharma product has seen an increase of 50% bookings saw a great surge; “We are optimistic about
in pharma shipments with Etihad Cargo, thanks to the trust in addition, our e-AWB the year ahead. We have
that our partners have put in us and our IATA CEIV Pharma penetration increased, putting already recovered in many
certifications.” us amongst the top airlines.” areas, including the strong
In fact, Etihad Cargo was amongst the fastest airlines to roll Like many freight carriers, equine and automotive
out the so-called mini freighters or preighters: that occurred Etihad Cargo has had to movement sectors,
within 24 hours of the suspension of the normal passenger adapt to the rise of which were greatly
flights. e-commerce. affected during the
Allaham continues: “We have participated in key government “We have early months of the
programmes, moving incinerators of over 60 tonnes to bringing witnessed a pandemic. We are
COVID swabs from Europe to be tested in the UAE labs. The sizeable expecting to see a
rolling out of the preighters was a major change for us, to increase in large movement
introduce the necessary capacity into the market and ensure of temperature-
that the world trade lanes remained connected. We controlled items,
worked closely with customers and partners, especially the
achieving record loads on some flights and we
ensured that our front line staff had all the
12 February 2021 www.airlogisticsinternational.comCOVID-19 vaccine, where the Hope consortium is estimating of the vaccine that the world
at handling almost 18bn doses by the end of 2021. Finally, has been eagerly awaiting.
with the recovery of the passenger network, we expect to be ... we had to “Being no stranger to pharma
reopening several scheduled routes within our network.”
innovate very and having the world’s
largest GDP certified facilities
A challenging year quickly and extensive experience
Before 2021 finishes, the word “challenging” will probably go from our daily movement
Henrik Ambak,
down in history as the most mentioned adjective in connection SVP Cargo Operations Worldwide, of pharmaceuticals, we look
Emirates
with the coronavirus… forward to facilitating this
For Henrik Ambak, SVP Cargo Operations Worldwide at essential distribution task. As
Emirates, “2020 was one of the most challenging years for us also had to make a complete the end of the pandemic does
humans in a very long time – and therefore also challenging safety evaluation and develop not yet seem in sight, 2021 is
for aviation. If we are speaking in strict business terms, it also guidelines for our worldwide going to continue several of
provided an opportunity for air cargo to step up its game and team to follow. In the month the trends from the previous
prove its importance to society in a difficult situation, which I of June, we also removed seats year, not the least disruptive
think the industry managed very well. Here I mean the industry in Economy Class from ten change at short notice to no
in the widest sense of the word: airlines, forwarders and handlers, Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to notice at all. Although there
as well as the regulating authorities. The magnitude of the convert them into what we like has been a recovery in our
challenge we faced was more than the combined impact of all to call mini-freighters. And we passenger operations, we are
other previous upsets. have now operated cargo-only not yet close to the scale of our
“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’d never had a situation flights on Airbus 380 aircraft. pre-pandemic operations. We
where our entire passenger operation remained suspended for an “Aside from the initial anticipate that we will continue
extended period of time. When COVID-19 forced the complete surge in PPE, the year to use our mini-freighters and
suspension of passenger flight operations in late March, we lost brought substantial growth in passenger aircraft for cargo-only
access to the capacity on passenger flights, which normally offer e-commerce, as many of us no operations in the near to mid-
more than two thirds of our total global cargo capacity. We were longer went shopping in shops term to meet market demand.
only left with our full freighter operations, with a fleet of 11 Boeing but instead clicked ourselves As vaccine production scales
777 aircraft. to what we needed. Given up and countries start ramping
“However, there was an immediate and urgent demand in the the convenience e-commerce up delivery of the vaccines to
market for air cargo capacity in order to transport medical supplies offers, this is not likely to their citizens and residents,
such as PPE, equipment and food, in addition to the normal air be a short term blip but the we expect to see increasing
cargo. And so, we had to innovate very quickly, almost reinvent acceleration of an already volumes of these vaccines
our complete business model overnight and ensure that we were existing change of consumer moving on our flights.”
doing the business and fulfilling our social responsibility by behaviour: an acceleration we
transporting urgently required commodities across the world. are happy to facilitate.” Busy time for Qatar Cargo
“Our first order of business was to restore air cargo connectivity His year ended with the For Qatar Cargo’s Guillaume
to markets around the world so that we could continue beginning of the distribution Halleux, 2020 started off with
transporting essential commodities that were required in the
response to COVID-19. In order to do this, we started operating
our Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft as cargo-only aircraft. This Demands on the cargo sector have been
immense but carriers rose to the challenge
had never been done before and our team had to work within a
very short time to plan our new route network and work with our
partners across the world; they also had to work with the relevant
authorities to get the required permissions to operate the flights.
“We were able to deploy these and increase our destination
network from about 35 (served by our 11 Boeing 777 freighters) at
the end of March, to around 50 by April. Within 100 days from the
end of March, we had re-established a network of more than 100
destinations across six continents,” he adds.
Innovative solutions
In the meantime, Ambak relates, Emirates also came up with other
innovative solutions to increase the amount of air cargo capacity.
“This included loading cargo on the seats of passenger aircraft
and in the overhead bins. Of course, before we introduced this, we
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2021 13ANALYSIS
WORLD
Emirates found itself initially relying on 11
freighters but innovation saved the day
an expansion of the network, seeing freighters to Campinas, A range of initiatives International. As a result, we
Santiago, Bogotá and Osaka. To support Australian transported over 1.5m tonnes
“However, with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the months exporters, the carrier joined the of cargo in 2020, this a 4%
ahead proved challenging. Its impact on the aviation industry was International Freight Assistance increase over the previous year.
tremendous and as border and travel restrictions were introduced, Mechanism in Australia, an In fact, QR Cargo’s market
it significantly affected our bellyhold capacity. The disruption initiative whereby exporters share has grown since the
started in China first and slowly spread throughout the world, in the country could swiftly start of the pandemic because
resulting in Qatar Airways Cargo losing more than 650 tonnes of transport their produce with of the increase in demand
cargo capacity each week from China alone. The pandemic was reduced airfreight costs. for freighter aircraft capacity,
another test of human resilience, although we had been through a “To lead the way for a further consolidating our
similar situation when the blockade happened few years ago. more sustainable and socially position as a major player in
“We were quick to adjust to the situation and compensate for the responsible air cargo industry, the global air freight market.”
loss of capacity. During the peak of the pandemic, we operated 180 we also introduced our Predictably, COVID-19
cargo flights per day. That compares with 60 (cargo-only) flights per sustainability programme brought change to the
day pre-COVID, so we tripled the number of operations.” WeQare through its Chapter operation.
He adds that alongside freighter and charter operations, Qatar 1 – One million kilos. We also “We made a conscious
operated passenger aircraft for cargo only, putting lightweight added SkyCell’s temperature- decision to continue flying
packages on the seats, optimising freight capacity on passenger controlled 100% recyclable our freighters and introduced
flights and maintaining the freighter network, albeit sometimes at hybrid containers to our passenger freighters and
a loss. pharma product offering. mini-freighters to complement
“We introduced additional capacity to several airports Qatar Airways Cargo also our network and support our
worldwide, prioritising transport of essential medical supplies and received IATA’s CEIV Pharma customers. Our teams showed
aid relief. Air bridges were created between China and France and certification for our expertise in the tenacity, versatility and
Vietnam and France to transport essential aid and supplies. B777 handling pharmaceuticals and resilience required during such
freighters were launched to Melbourne and Perth while passenger life science products. a time, even though most of us
freighters were introduced to Ostend-Bruges airport, Châlons Vatry “Qatar Aviation Services were working from home.
airport, Lyon–Saint Exupéry and Harstad-Narvik. Six new bellyhold Cargo, our ground handling “Given the uncertain
destinations were launched in 2020, while the airline also received partner, also received the CEIV outlook caused by
new A350 aircraft.” Pharma certification at Hamad COVID-19, we had to impose
14 February 2021 www.airlogisticsinternational.comEtihad was the quickest carrier last year
to make use of the mini-freighter concept
extraordinary measures to prioritise aid and relief shipments. For are, but we were well prepared Atlanta. This is good news
example, we introduced special pricing structures for medical to support this increased for cargo in terms of belly
products and PPE to avoid the risk of overpricing and worked demand for e-commerce capacity, where we currently
with our customers to put all the capacity agreements and block shipments,” he relates. “With have over 120 destinations. We
space agreements on hold to cater to the massive relief aid over 70% of our network are planning to keep supply
transport. equipped with the latest chains in place by working
“Through WeQare’s Chapter 1 – One million kilos, we offered technology and handling with freight forwarders
freight forwarders the opportunity to allocate one million capabilities, our solutions and other stakeholders to
kilogrammes of airfreight space to charities of their choice and QR E-commerce, Courier and overcome challenges as best
transport humanitarian aid – including medical equipment and Mail tackle demands of the as we can, while keeping our
personal protective equipment – free of charge on our aircraft global airmail and e-commerce operations and development
to our extensive global network. In addition, working closely industry. sustainable. As a leading air
with governments and NGOs around the world, more than “E-commerce was a major cargo carrier, we want to
250,000 tonnes of medical and aid supplies were transported on contributor to our operations give back to communities we
our flights to impacted regions. Additionally, over 500 charters and business during the serve and make a difference.
transporting essential aid, medical supplies, food and live pandemic and we continue to Sustainability will be top of
animals, amongst other cargo, were flown last year. see high demand this year, as our agenda this year as we
“Despite the travel restrictions, we still continued discussions well. Apart from transporting introduce more chapters in
with our customers and stakeholders through Webex, Skype these shipments on our our WeQare programme. We
and other such platforms. Even amongst our teams, though scheduled freighters and have just launched Rewild
they were working from home, we worked really hard as one flights, we operated more than the Planet, Chapter 2 of
team, constantly communicating with phone calls or online 40 charters with e-commerce our WeQare programme to
meetings and making sure we were able to support our customers. goods last year.” show our commitment for
COVID-19 has also fast-tracked the demand for digitalisation conservation of wildlife.
and we have introduced several digitalisation initiatives, such Future perspectives “Digitalisation is also a key
as Robotic Process Automation for shipment tracking, Salesforce Finally, looking ahead, how area of focus for us this year,
(Service Cloud), IATA’s One Record Pilot project with CHAMP and did he see 2021 panning out? as it is set to bring a massive
e-bookings via WebCargo by Freightos that will go live in selected “The year began well for us; change to our fragmented
countries on February 7 this year. we took delivery of three brand industry. We strive to expand
“In spite of the hurdles, we have achieved the highest flying new Boeing 777 freighters our leadership in the airfreight
hours of any airline in the world and that has allowed us to to be able to better support market by driving digitalisation
maintain sufficient cargo capacity, which was good for our the global demand and our within Qatar Airways Cargo.
customers, as they could continue their activities. As a result, customers’ business this year. Another step is the WebCargo
Qatar Airways Cargo’s market share in CTKs as published by IATA Other great news was that after roll-out that will take place on
increased from 6.8% pre-COVID to 8.5% by the end of 2020.” more than a three-and-a-half February 7 in France, Germany,
year blockade, the borders Italy, the Netherlands, South
The e-commerce factor have now opened up with our Africa and Spain. Through
As Halleux points out, the rise of e-commerce isn’t new; however, neighbouring country Saudi WebCargo bookings,
given the lockdown, travel restrictions and uncertainty during Arabia, allowing us to resume forwarders in these countries
the pandemic, shopping behaviour has drastically changed, airfreight and air travel. We will be able to conduct
leading to an increase in e-commerce shipments. have therefore, started flights real-time e-Bookings, access
“Our customers are dealing with the same uncertainty as we to Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia. live rates and see available
“There will be challenges in capacity with us. As part of
2021 as countries try to curb the launch, we are offering
the spread of the second or the most competitive rates on
third wave of the virus while WebCargo or the Qatar Airways
We made a adapting to the new normal, Cargo website by introducing a
conscious decision but we will continue operating discount scheme to forwarders,
our scheduled freighter resulting in an average saving
to continue flying flights, passenger freighters, of US$0.06/kilogramme for the
cargo charters and bellyhold first 20,000 shipments booked
our freighters flights. Qatar Airways recently via the platform in these
Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo, announced several frequency countries. Additional countries
Qatar Airways Cargo
increases to US destinations will be added further in the
and resumption of flights to year.”
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2021 15INTERVIEW
INDUSTRY
DELT COURSE
Felicity Stredder asked Delta Cargo’s new VP, Rob Walpole, how the airline plans to
navigate 2021.
A
fter joining Delta in this and its approach to the year in general in what continues to be Areas of opportunity
August 2019, Rob a time of great uncertainty. The final area of focus for
Walpole became Vice “The first half of the year we expect to be a lot like 2020: very Delta concerns the return to
President of Delta Cargo short on capacity, very choppy in terms of passenger flying and regularity of the business and
in November 2020, taking network planning. The model that we that we and our competitors preparations for the future,
over from Shawn Cole pursue of continued cargo-only flying, using passenger fleets for which Walpole is unequivocal
and becoming responsible cargo-only flights, running routes that we might not otherwise will look quite different from
for commercial, revenue necessarily run because the supply chains are not there to fulfil today. With such challenges,
management, cargo operations services in certain areas.” come opportunities.
and logistics for the company. The second pillar in Delta’s strategy is one of growth, which “One of the things that
In January it was announced relies on cargo-led markets, explains Walpole. “As our business we’ve tried to do is not
that the cargo arm would be on the passenger side does begin to come back, whether that’s only make the most of the
joining Delta’s commercial late spring, whether it’s late summer, we use the cargo business as opportunity that exists right
organisation as part of a lead for those markets that we will ultimately be looking to fly now for a cargo business, but
accelerated efforts to improve passengers back into. Atlanta to Madrid, for example, we run as a also take stock on how to use
operational performance. cargo-only flight now with the full intention that as the passenger this time to prepare ourselves
Says Walpole, “We moved demand bounces back, we’ll put passengers on there – but cargo is for what the market will look
the cargo organisation across what’s driving the economics in the short term.” like in the future. A lot of the
to align more closely with the In its third pillar, in response to the network limitations trends, the most obvious being
commercial side of the business currently experienced by all industry players, Delta is focussing the change in e-commerce,
and that’s a very deliberate efforts on building products and services with its alliance partners. won’t revert back when the
measure around enabling our “Particularly in the market we’re in right now, where we’re flying market returns to relative
cargo business to connect fully less, the partner connectivity is very important,” asserts Walpole. normality,” he asserts.
with the other elements of “Our connectivity with our partners is a critical part of being able The global surge in
the broader entity of Delta – to put together multi-node solutions for our customers because e-commerce has already
network planning, commercial there are areas we may not be flying. With the SkyTeam Alliance, presented an opportunity
and sales – so that we can we’re able to do that more comprehensively than some of some of for Delta to support global
maximise the commercial value our competitors.” supply chains, enthuses
of the business,” he relates. Walpole, where purchasing
“We believe we’ve built a patterns and the way people
very strong operational and buy, sell and distribute
service-driven platform. It’s products have changed. “For
about growth, it’s about new us it’s different locations,
products, it’s about extending it’s different frequency of
our digital platform and distribution and adapting our
leveraging those to improve our products and services to meet
customers’ experience.” that requirement.” Domestic
distribution of e-commerce
Strategy for the year products within the US has
Based out of the US, Walpole’s particularly flourished, he adds.
new objective is to lead the “We’re able to provide faster,
Delta Cargo team in continuing more time-definite solutions
this growth. He explains the on certain point-to-point
airline’s strategy for achieving distribution activities than
16 February 2021 www.airlogisticsinternational.comI do believe that the air cargo sector will continue to grow,
and faster than GDP globally
Rob Walpole, Vice President, Delta Cargo
some express carriers who market there, as a passenger airline cargo business. We’ve built our customers has forced the
would all hub their products digital platform in terms of booking and the ability for customers airline to adapt its business
through certain locations.” to manage their business with us via deltacargo.com, and we’ve model and build ad hoc
Working with ground carriers seen a five- or six-fold increase in the last month in terms of the solutions more than it would
and other partners in the US traffic that’s going via our dot com platform.” like. “The challenge there is
market, Delta is able to provide Delta has also built a strong vaccine distribution network and we’re not flying full network.
a full door-to-door solution to has been able to support the COVID-19 vaccine distribution within There’s a lot of one-off
customers, he explains. “So in the US in its initial phases, with export efforts from the US into solutions and things that
some sectors, we are able to other markets expected in the first quarter of this year. As the first need to be built to support
provide solutions that are more wave of the global vaccine distribution nears completion in 2022, customer demands, and it’s
efficient in meeting customer Walpole foresees this line of business becoming a regular one. less systematic than the way
needs.” “We’ll still need to distribute vaccines every year, and so there’s we would usually run the
Naturally, Delta has also for sure some opportunity in terms of the pharma distribution business. It’s become more
been spurred by the changing networks and how those are operated.” usual in the last month, but
face of the industry to invest it continues to be a challenge
in its digital offering, Walpole Challenges persist for our people to be flexible
notes. “We’ve invested in Extreme market conditions continue to create challenges as and to be able to react to those
APIs and we think we lead the we enter 2021. Significant supply chain disruption to Delta’s opportunities.”
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2021 17You can also read
