Our global freight forwarding network keeps our customers freight moving across the world.

Avianca and DSV team up on Caracas aid flight

Freighter operator Avianca Cargo and forwarder DSV have teamed up to transport 58 tons of humanitarian aid to Venezuela in response to the recent devastating earthquakes that hit the country. The two earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter Scale, hit outside capital Caracas on the evening of 24 June, causing widespread destruction and resulting in the deaths of more than 5,000 people and leaving 650,000 people in need of aid. The Airbus A330F humanitarian flight departed from Miami and arrived in Caracas carrying medical supplies, food, hydration kits, personal hygiene products, and other essential relief items to help address the most urgent needs of affected communities. "This humanitarian mission, carried out together with DSV, reflects our shared commitment to making a meaningful difference when communities face extraordinary challenges. Our core priority is ensuring the seamless, efficient delivery of international humanitarian aid, which requires ongoing alignment with local authorities and our relief partners", said Juan Correa, Avianca Cargo chief commercial officer. Stephanie Penarete, vice president, DSV air product Americas, added: "We are proud to work alongside Avianca Cargo, combining our logistics expertise with their network and operational excellence to deliver essential relief supplies to communities in Venezuela." The two partners said the operation was carried out in close collaboration with humanitarian partners, including Direct Relief, Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), Heart to Heart International and World Central Kitchen, whose support was critical in identifying priority needs, coordinating donations, and ensuring that relief supplies reached the communities who needed it most. In total, Avianca has transported 150 tons of humanitarian aid to Caracas since the earthquakes struck. Others in the air cargo industry have also operated aid flights to help transport supplies to the country.

Good news for India's booming air cargo sector as freighters take off at NMIA

Freighter and belly capacity is gathering pace at Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), Adani Group's newest flagship investment in India, which opened to commercial business late last year. Cathay Cargo this month became the first to announce international freighter services out of NMIA from next month, with indications that the Hong Kong-based airline intends to develop the gateway as its Mumbai hub, shifting from the old city airport and its prolonged disruption due to infrastructure upgrades. Adani Airport Holdings had told cargo stakeholders no freighter slots would be available at Mumbai from next month until May 2027. And Cathay is not alone in trying to build a cargo footprint at NMIA. Tata Group-owned Air India began international cargo operations last week via bellyhold shipments to Abu Dhabi on its twice-weekly passenger service. Air India said the Navi Mumbai service launch reflected its "dual airport strategy", claiming the new air cargo infrastructure offered a "seamless cold chain experience" for its first temperature-controlled shipment. "Fresh produce was transported to the airport in refrigerated vehicles, stored in temperature-controlled facilities before loading, and prepared for export in accordance with prescribed handling protocols for perishable cargo," it said. Airlines have suffered perennial capacity issues at Mumbai, so industry sources are betting high on NMIA, which features a large integrated air cargo terminal, with some 36,000sq metres for domestic cargo and some 25,500sq metres for international cargo. Current estimates are that the terminal could handle 800,000 tonnes of cargo in the first phase of operations, scaling up to around 3m tonnes in phases. According to industry sources, its automated 'truck slot management' system is a key air cargo service differentiator at NMIA. The digital platform, integrated within the airport's cargo community system run by Kale Logistics Solutions, enables logistics providers to pre-book specific time slots for truck arrivals, substantially reducing truck turnaround times and alleviating terminal congestion during peak hours. Kale co-founder and director Vineet Malhotra told The Loadstar: "By enabling digital slot bookings, intelligent scheduling and real-time co-ordination between freight forwarders, transporters, ground handlers, and terminal operators, the solution streamlines cargo movement, reduces vehicle dwell times, improves resource utilisation and enhances the overall efficiency of the cargo terminal." With the necessary regulatory permissions in place, bonded trucking services are also set to go live soon at NMIA, sources said. Bonded trucking by customs-accredited over-the-road carriers is an integral part of multimodal operations, as government policymakers and industry stakeholders work to lower logistics costs and shorten cargo wait times at gateway terminals. "More airlines will surely start operations once bonded trucking services are available to connect cargo between the two airports," Mumbai-based industry veteran Joy John told The Loadstar.

DHL welcomes SBTi's adoption of 'book and claim' for emissions reduction

DHL has welcomed the Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) acceptance of 'book and claim' as a mechanism for tracking emissions reduction. In June, SBTi, which was founded as a partnership between the Carbon Disclosure Project, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature, published Version 2.0 of its Corporate Net Zero Standard. The updated framework introduces book and claim as a credible mechanism for reducing transport emissions and contributing to corporate climate targets. Book and claim allows companies to transfer emissions reductions amongst various parties through the use of a registry. This solves a couple of problems: firstly, when one party reduces emissions on behalf of another and secondly, when the emissions reduction may not actually be connected to a specific shipment. For example, a shipper may request the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for a certain shipment or route, but the airline actually uses the equivalent amount of SAF on another flight entirely. "When a sustainable fuel supplier produces the product, they generate a certificate based on a certain quantity of sustainable fuel (e.g., one metric ton) they make from sustainable feedstock," explained DHL. "You receive that independently verified certificate when you purchase sustainable fuel attributes through a book and claim system or when you purchase a low-emission transport service powered by those fuels (or an electric vehicle). "So, even though your package or freight might not have been shipped in a truck, plane or ship powered by sustainable fuel, somewhere in the network someone else's shipment did. Your purchase has replaced fossil-based fuel and reduced overall transport emissions - and you get the credit for that." DHL said the new mechanism would enable it to transfer the environmental benefits of low-carbon fuels used within its network to customers whose shipments move through that network. Tobias Meyer, chief executive of the DHL Group, said: "For years, DHL has championed practical, high-integrity solutions to decarbonise logistics at scale. "Through the use of alternative, low-carbon fuels and GoGreen Plus, we have enabled thousands of customers across industries and geographies to reduce the emissions associated with their transportation activities. "The continued evolution of industry standards and frameworks is an important step in helping accelerate the transition to lower-emission logistics worldwide." The Science Based Targets initiative was established in 2015 to help companies to set emission reduction targets in line with climate science and the Paris emissions reduction agreement goals.