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Rhenus opens Dubai Humanitarian hub office

Rhenus has opened an emergency aid and relief logistics office within the Dubai Humanitarian hub to manage air, ocean and road freight aid operations. The office was inaugurated on 14 October and follows the launch of Rhenus' humanitarian logistics offering in the UAE earlier this year. Dubai Humanitarian describes itself as the only non-profit, independent, humanitarian free zone authority. It hosts a community of around 80 members comprised of UN organisations, non-profits and non-governmental organisations, in addition to commercial companies. Since the start of this year, Rhenus has established activities within Dubai Humanitarian, developed regional and cross-border transport solutions, secured its Dubai Humanitarian free zone license and expanded its network of humanitarian partners. From Dubai Humanitarian, the Rhenus aid & relief team will manage air, ocean and road freight for essential relief supplies, including medical products, pharmaceuticals, food aid, shelter materials and emergency response equipment. "Dubai Humanitarian brings together many of the organisations that play a vital role in humanitarian response. Being part of this community allows us to work more closely with our partners and better support their logistics requirements when and where they are needed," said Hassan Alzeer, managing director, Rhenus Middle East. Giuseppe Saba, chief executive and board member of Dubai Humanitarian, added: "In humanitarian preparedness and response, proximity is more than a logistical advantage as it can be an operational necessity. "Rhenus Logistics' presence within Dubai Humanitarian reinforces the value of our ecosystem where humanitarian actors and logistics partners work side by side, strengthening coordination, efficiency and the capacity to respond when it matters most." Sayid Kunhipurayil, logistics development manager, aid & relief, Rhenus Middle East, further stated: "Humanitarian shipments often move under intense time pressure and through complex operating environments. "Our role is to bring structure, reliability and practical logistics expertise to those moments, helping organisations plan the right route, secure capacity and move essential supplies as efficiently as possible."

Navi Mumbai highlights cargo achievements following operational challenges

Recently opened Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) has highlighted its cargo achievements since it welcomed its first flight, while it also tackles operational issues facing its freight operations. The Indian airport said that between January and September, it has handled 11,853 tonnes of cargo, while it has processed 24 scheduled and chartered international freighters since all-cargo operations started in August. International airfreight accounts for 54.6% of total cargo throughput, while domestic volumes have a 45.4% share. "NMIA's modern airside infrastructure has facilitated immediate adoption by top-tier international and domestic freighter operators," the airport said in a press release. "The facility has proven its handling readiness for wide-body and heavy-lift aircraft, including regular operations by the Boeing 777F, Boeing 747-8F, and specialised charters with the Antonov An-124." The airport said that Cathay Cargo is operating daily flights; Silk Way West has established Boeing 777 freighter flights to Baku and Hong Kong Air Cargo has also added flights "linking NMIA with critical manufacturing and e-commerce distribution centres across East Asia". Navi Mumbai also said that it had managed to handle eight dedicated cargo freighters in a single operating day on 9 October, including Cathay Cargo, Challenge Air, Qatar Airways, Aerologic, AFCOM, MNG Airlines, ASL Airlines, and Atlas Air. "In addition to scheduled international carriers, the airport's regular cargo traffic comprises a growing consortium of international and domestic cargo operators, including DHL Aviation, IndiGo, Qatar Airways Cargo, Air India Express, Turkish Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Jiangsu Jingdong Cargo, and SF Airlines," the airport added. Operational challenges While the airport was keen to highlight its successes since opening, there have also been challenges. Customs brokers have said the airport's cargo operations have faced operational challenges, while freighter operator Challenge Group announced that it would suspend freighter flights at the airport due to a lack of reliability. The airline announced it would suspend operations to the airport on 1 October, although one of its Boeing 767 freighters did conduct a flight on 8 October. Local reports suggest that the airport has responded by adding extra manpower and improving communications with freight forwarders. The airport also temporarily waived demurrage charges as a gesture of goodwill. Air Cargo News has contacted airport operator Adani for an update on the airport's cargo operations. NMIA opened its doors back in December, but freighter operations did not get underway until 1 August, when an IndiGo freighter took off from the airport. Freighter operators have been asked to temporarily move their flights from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to NMIA while work is carried out on cargo infrastructure at CSMIA. The work is expected to take 10 months and was due to start in August. The airport features temperature-controlled zones catering to GDP-compliant active and passive pharmaceutical storage and agricultural perishables and segregated staging facilities designed for valuable goods, vulnerable electronics, and heavy/oversized industrial cargo. The airport operator also pointed out that the hub is situated around 14 km from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), meaning it can also be used for sea-air operations.

Delta Air Lines reports another strong increase in cargo revenues

Delta Air Lines has seen its cargo revenues improve by double-digit percentage levels in the third quarter of the year. The Atlanta-headquartered airline registered a 29% year-on-year increase in third-quarter cargo revenues to $301m. The company said the revenue increase was fuelled roughly equally by volume and yield, suggesting an increase of around 15% for each. If the airline's volumes have been increasing by 15%, that would outstrip the average recorded by North American airlines according to IATA figures. The airline association reported that in August North American airlines benefitted from a 6.6% year-on-year increase in cargo tonne kms. Over the first eight months of the year, North American cargo tonne kms have increased by 5.9%. IATA figures show that the fastest-growing major North American trade lane is from Asia where cargo tonne kms were up 13.2% in August, marking seven months of consecutive growth. While Delta has a presence on the transpacific and is targeting expansion on the trade, its main international market is the transatlantic. Europe-North America cargo tonne kms increased by 4.3% in August, according to IATA. Cargo revenues would have also increased on the back of higher fuel prices, which have recently been tracking at more than 100% of last year's levels. During the airline's second-quarter conference call, Joe Esposito, Delta's executive vice president & chief commercial officer, said that the airline was benefiting from the rerouting of cargo away from the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict and also its expansion in Asia.