Blue Dart has strengthened its presence by introducing 15 new retail stores across the country. The stores will be launched on 15 August 2022 and will be in Odisha, Assam, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The new stores will widen Blue Dart’s presence in tier I and II markets in India. The expansion will act as an advantage for customers enabling Blue Dart to cater to 55,000 plus locations. With around 700 retail stores (with DHL) across India, Blue Dart offers the most reliable, resilient and responsive service providing a quick turnaround time and an enhanced direct reach to pin-codes in the country. Ketan Kulkarni, CCO, Blue Dart says, “As pioneers in Express Logistics and the nation’s trade facilitator we understand the growing logistic needs. The retail expansion will widen our network and improve accessibility to our customers. We will continue to identify new locations and will further expand our reach in order to improve last mile logistics to the remotest parts of the country.”

Rhenus Group has expanded its warehousing footprint in India with the opening of two new multi-user chemical warehouses in Jamalpur (Gurugram) and Bhiwandi (Mumbai). Rhenus is also proud to introduce their very own building, Rhenus Tower, located at the centre of the logistics hub in Mumbai-Andheri. The new storage solutions include a heavy-duty selective pallet racking system for customised storage, shelving systems for smaller / spare parts, an automated vertical lean storage system for the safe and optimised storage of products as well as temperature-controlled / cold-room storage facilities. The brand-new warehouse in Bhiwandi (Mumbai) opens on 301,000 square feet, with 32,000 pallet positions with a load capacity of 1.1 tons per pallet, and houses 20 docks. The upcoming multi-user chemical warehouse in Jamalpur (Gurugram) is equipped to handle 18,000 pallet positions with a load capacity of 1.1 tons per pallet and houses 19 docks with top-of-the-class infrastructure, such as automated roller shutters and hydraulic dock levelers. It also exclusively provides block space for flammable chemicals. These facilities have received operation approval from the Chief Controller of Explosives (CCoE) and the Pollution Control Board. Dedicated fire detection and management facilities and a 24/7 CCTV monitoring system provide customers with peace of mind for their cargo.

Industry recommended a parallel runway, an international cargo village, an aero city, and a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility at Parandur Greenfield airport near Chennai. At the initial discussion, the stakeholders made these recommendations to M.K. Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) said, the airport should have parallel runways rather than the intersecting ones at Chennai Airport to facilitate uninterrupted aircraft flow. A new, first-rate aviation city with top-notch infra was suggested to be built by the CII in the area surrounding the airport. The new airport’s transhipment and cargo handling capabilities could help Chennai become a major transhipment hub in South-East Asia. A separate corridor from the city to the airport by rail, metro, or road connectivity has been proposed for Chennai-Bengaluru route is overcrowded.

Handler Swissport has opened a new air cargo warehouse at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on the back of increasing demand. The 370 sq m facility is the handler’s sixth cargo location in Canada and the third new Canadian warehouse in under half a year. In comparison with 2019, the company’s volumes in Canada are up 35%, underlining the need for increased warehousing and logistics capacity. “With the opening of new warehouses across Canada, we are leveraging Swissport‘s global expertise to deliver world-class air cargo handling at more Canadian airports,” said Charles Roberge, chief executive of Swissport in Canada. “We are adding more services in more places making sure we meet the growing needs of our customers and changes in the industry. With its comprehensive service portfolio Swissport in Canada aspires to be the partner of choice for global and local customer airlines alike and we will continue to invest in our service delivery.” The company has also recently added new air cargo warehouses at Montréal–Mirabel International Airport and Edmonton International Airport.

SriLankan Cares, the CSR arm of SriLankan Airlines, takes on the cause of airlifting essential medicines gifted by Indian donors to hospitals in Sri Lanka, free of freight charges. SriLankan Cares has teamed with Sri Lankan Cargo to implement the long-term humanitarian project, aiming to channel medical product donations from India among others to hospitals in Sri Lanka that are struggling to cope with the ongoing drug shortage in the country. The project is also representative of the Sri Lankan national carrier’s enduring commitment to espouse national causes in the country’s hour of urgent need. SriLankan Cares has airlifted consignments of life-saving drugs donated by organizations and individuals. The medical supplies were flown free of freight charges on SriLankan Airlines and distributed to medical establishments across Sri Lanka.

According to report, Air India may bring back its 10 grounded wide bodied aircraft into service by early 2023. A wide body aircraft has a bigger fuel tank, allowing it to travel long global routes such as India-US and India-Canada. “Air India currently has 43 wide bodied aircraft, of which 33 are operational. This is an improvement from the 28 aircraft that the airline was operating till recently,” a statement read. “The remaining ones will be returned to service by early 2023,” it added. As per it, the progressive restoration of these aircraft has made Air India to increase schedule resilience and allow frequency and network increases over the coming months.

A new air freight service connectuthe southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, and Bengaluru, was recently launched, officials from Shenzhen Ba’oan International Airport stated in a statement. Five flights between the two destinations are scheduled to be operated each week. To date, there are three freight routes linking the airport and India, and the opening of the new route will increase weekly outbound cargo volume from 190 tonnes to over 500 tonnes, officials said. Another four cargo routes connecting the airport with Hanoi, Doha, Leipzig, New York, and Bengaluru have been launched this year. So far, the number of global and regional destinations with the airport’s air cargo services has increased to 34, with 370 cargo flights being operated per week, providing strong support for the export of enterprises in the emerging city. In the first seven months of this year, the overseas cargo throughput of the airport totaled 443,000 tonnes, up 21.6 per cent annually y-o-y.

An air cargo complex is likely to be constructed soon for import of commodities, including handicraft items, mineral production, and export of fruits and vegetables at Dabok Airport in Udaipur. Rajiv Arora, chairman, Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation Limited, who recently interacted with Airport Authority in Udaipur officials. He said the possibilities of import of handicrafts from Udaipur, building stones, minerals and export of fruits and vegetables and supplies from local industry were explored for the new air cargo. As per reports, Ministry of Civil Aviation has given the go-green signal for giving in-principal permission to Dabok Airport to set up an air cargo complex and the location has been identified. “The day is not far when Udaipur will have its place on the international map as an importer and exporter,” Arora added.

Lufthansa Cargo reported an EBIT of €482 million (US$492 million) for the second quarter ended June 30 2022—an increase of 48 per cent compared to Q22021 on demand for freight and average yields in the airfreight industry well above the pre-crisis level. “Momentum continues due to ongoing capacity shortages, and ~70 per cent of load originates outside of Germany,” stated the airline. F00or Q22022, traffic revenue increased 45 per cent to €1.2 billion (US$1.23 billion). While available CTKs increased by 20 per cent to 2.9 billion compared to 2.5 billion in Q22021, revenue cargo tonne kilometres was down marginally at 1.8 billion. Cargo load factor was down 13 pts at 60.2 In the first half, Lufthansa Cargo achieved a new record adjusted EBIT of €977 million (US$996 million) compared to €641 million (US$654 million) in H12021. Traffic revenue was up 46 per cent to €2.3 billion (US$2.3 billion). “On 9 May 2022, the Lufthansa Group decided to purchase three Boeing 777F cargo aircraft and seven Boeing 777-8F cargo aircraft. In addition, leases for two Boeing 777F cargo aircraft, which run until 2024, will be extended,” the carrier added.

The newly developed domestic cargo terminal commenced operations at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The 600 square feet facility has the capacity to handle over 3,500 MT per year. The 24×7 terminal is poised to boost cargo trade from Thiruvananthapuram. The facility provides end-to-end cargo services encompassing cityside handling, security functions, storage and airside handling under close monitoring to ensure safety of the cargo. Besides adding incremental cargo handling capacity to the airport’s cargo infra, the facility will provide an additional choice of services for the trade at the airport. The infrastructure of the new cargo facility is likely to improve the service levels of cargo handling at the domestic terminal. The new facility is equipped to handle perishable goods, with temperature control from 15°C to 25°C. The facility will handle machinery parts, readymade garments, fabrics, dyes, chemicals, valuable cargo, and other commodities.