Customs offices in BLR Airport air cargo complex to resume work from Aug 1

Custom offices at the Air Cargo Complex, Menzies Bobba Building and Air India SATS Building, of Bengaluru International Airport, were closed for two-day sanitation on Wednesday (July 29) as an officer tested positive for Covid-19.
“As per the guidelines laid down by the ministry of health and family welfare, “SOP on preventive measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 in offices,” competent authority has decided to close down the customs offices at Menzies Bobba building and Air India STATs Building for two days to ensure deep sanitization of all the floors of the two buildings. However Shed (Import & Export), Unaccompanied Baggage, Assessment and Courier shall continue to remain open,” said the customs notice dated July 29.
31/07/20 ITLN

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KIA halts cargo operations as 2 turn Covid-19 positive

Bengaluru: Cargo operations at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) were halted on Thursday morning after at least two employees contracted the coronavirus infection in three days.
The air cargo complex, spread across Menzies Bobba and Air India SATS buildings, has been sealed for two days for sanitisation. The operations are expected to resume on Saturday morning.
An executive assistant in the administrative wing of the Bangalore customs unit (cargo), tested positive on Monday, according to an airport official, who didn’t want to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
Following the positive report, staff working on the ground floor of the cargo complex underwent tests and were quarantined. On Wednesday, a customs officer turned positive. All employees were then isolated and the two buildings that also have several other offices were sealed.
30/07/20 Petlee Peter/Times of India

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First AirBridgeCargo commercial flight to India lifted 80 tonnes of pharma for Chicago

In its first commercial flight to India, AirBridgeCargo (ABC) flew into Mumbai on Friday (July 24) to lift 80 tonnes of pharmaceutical cargo destined for O'Hare International Airport in Chicago via its hub in Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO), Moscow.

The pharmaceutical cargo, consolidated through various customers, was in the +15 to +25°C (+60 to +75°F) controlled room temperature range. A large portion of the 80-tonne shipment was destined for Chicago and the remaining for customers in Europe. Therefore, there was no change of aircraft required at Moscow and the ABC freighter was able to land in Chicago 19 hours after it took off from Mumbai with a two-hour stop in SVO.
The Boeing 747 freighter was originally scheduled to land in Mumbai on Thursday (July 23), but the aircraft went tech and had to undergo maintenance at Sharjah.

In India, Allied Aviation is ABC’s partner for all international cargo services. Allied Aviation, founded in 1993 in Mumbai, is an independent cargo general sales and service agent.
AirBridgeCargo is a Volga-Dnepr Group company. Currently its fleet consists of 17 Boeing 747 freighters, including thirteen new-generation 747-8F aircraft.

At the Farnborough Airshow in 2018 Volga-Dnepr committed to buying 29 of Boeing’s 777 freighter aircraft along with an order for five of its 747-8 freighters. In fact, the most-efficient Boeing twin-engine freighter will join the ABC fleet soon as the first of the many aircraft ordered is getting the final touches at the Boeing Everett Factory.
27/07/20 Reji John/STAT Trade Times

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India to remain key global supply chain partner: Boeing India

New Delhi: Despite Covid-19 induced economic turbulence, aero space major Boeing India plans to maintain its systems and components sourcing activity in India.

The company sources components close to $1 billion a year from more than 200 suppliers in India.

"India will continue to be a key contributor to our global supply chain. Our sourcing from India stands at close to $1 billion a year from more than 200 suppliers who are manufacturing critical systems and components for some of Boeing's most advanced products," Boeing India president Salil Gupte told IANS.

"Our commitment to India remains strong and is for the long term. We want to contribute to the growth of India's aerospace industry; that's why we're investing in commercial aviation and defence...."

According to Gupte, the aerospace major supports the government's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives by developing Indian MSMEs through skilling and upskilling initiatives.

"Our growing installed platform base with commercial and defence customers in India and our expanding supplier base makes it imperative for us to invest, develop and nurture talent," he said.

"Through our skilling initiatives, we are training hundreds of pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, technicians, and frontline factory workers across India with our industry partners like Tata, Rossell Techsys, Jaivel and Lakshmi Machine Works. With these initiatives, among others, we are focused on creating a robust aerospace and defence ecosystem in India."
27/07/20 Rohit Vaid/IANS/daijiworld

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Bengaluru airport handles 24K ornamental fish from Thailand

Bengaluru: The Kempegowda International Airport in the Karnataka capital recently received a consignment of 24,200 ornamental fish from Thailand for an importer in Kerala, an official said on Thursday.

"Bengaluru airport processed a consignment of 24,200 ornamental fish recently. The consignment arrived at Bengaluru airport from Thailand," said an airport official.

Later, the fish were transported to Kerala's Kozhikode, after approvals from the Customs Department and the animal quarantine services in Bengaluru.

"The varieties included Betta Splendens (Fighting Fish) and Flower Horn Fish," said the official.
Adorned with natural colours of blue, white, black, yellow and red, the fishes had wing-like protrusions shooting out of their bodies on all sides.

The fishes been individually packed in a plastic bag each and then in thermocol boxes for the flight and onward transportation to Kerala.

However, the official did not reveal if any of the fish died during the flight. Though the official could not confirm if this was the largest fish consignment handled ever, she confirmed that the airport doesn't usually handle ornamental fish.
24/07/20 IANS/daijiworld

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‘Keen on cargo flights from Nashik’

Nashik: Private airline company SpiceJet is keen on starting cargo flights from Nashik and has already started a survey to find the export potential of the district. Apart from agricultural produce, goats, pharma and other industrial products are exported at large from Nashik. “We are planning to start cargo operations from Nashik shortly and we have already begun with the groundwork. We have initiated discussions with freight agents like Halcon and industry bodies to assess and develop the market from Nashik,” an official from SpiceJet said. “We have plans to develop Nashik into a cargo hub that caters to the entire district and adjoining industrial belts,” he added.
21/07/20 Tushar Pawar/Times of India

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Aviation Ministry planning e-gate pass facility at major cargo terminals by year-end

  New Delhi: The government is planning to roll out e-gate pass facility at cargo terminals of major airports by the end of this year, said a senior official of the Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday.
E-gate pass facility reduces paperwork, makes entry and exit quicker, and helps in social distancing as it ensures minimum physical contact.

"On e-gate pass, we have been internally debating whether January 1, 2021, be too late or too loose a target to give (to airports for e-gate pass facility). But I would say that by January 1, we expect the entire country would still be in the process to get approvals for it," said Vandana Aggarwal, senior economic advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation.

She said the ministry has had a discussion with various stakeholders and it is trying to make sure that "at least for those gateway airports, the ones that are large", the e-gate pass facility should come earlier than January 1, 2021.

"We can reach out to the smaller ones (airports) and get them in position by January 1, that is what I am broadly thinking of," Aggarwal said at a webinar organised by GMR group on "Air Cargo-Changing Dimensions".

The GMR group-run Delhi Airport on July 1 had announced the rollout of an e-gate pass facility at its cargo terminal.
21/07/20 PTI/Outlook

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GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo boosts cargo capabilities

Hyderabad: GMR Hyderabad International Airport on Tuesday announced that it has ramped up its cargo capabilities by inducting a multi ULD (Unit Load Device) cool dolly to maintain unbroken cold chain for time and temperature sensitive (TSS) shipments such as pharmaceuticals and perishables.
Comprising of a steel trailer and an aluminium insulated container, the cool dolly acts as a mobile storage unit from air cargo terminal to the aircraft and provides an unbroken cold chain to all the perishable shipments of temperatures of +2⁰C to +8⁰C and +15⁰C to +25⁰C. It can handle around 7-tonnes of cargo in a single trip, the company said.
The multi ULD cool dolly at Hyderabad Air Cargo was virtually launched by Vandana Aggarwal, senior economic advisor, ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) during the webinar on “Air Cargo-Changing Dimensions” organized by GMR Group.
21/07/20 Swati Rathor/Times of India

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Delhi Airport recorded highest ever freighter movement of 1,850 in June

Delhi International Airport has handled 1,850 cargo freighter aircraft in the month of June 2020, which is the highest in the country and highest-ever recorded movement in Delhi. This comprises of 1,091 scheduled and 759 non-scheduled freighter movements.

According to the white paper released by the airport, it has also recorded the highest volume of air cargo in India between April & June, the first quarter of the financial year 2021.

The airport handled more than 20 million pieces of essential medical supplies, the largest volume of essential medical supplies handled by any airport in India. The medical kits contained: 10.3 million facemasks, 6.2 million gloves, 4.9 million googles, 1.9 million bodysuits, 1.4 million shoe covers and 250 ventilators.

These imported medical kits were distributed all across the country including far-flung destinations of Northeast states - Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam, Sikkim – and major cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Cochin, Hyderabad, Vijayawada etc.
“Dedicated teams operated 24X7 at Cargo Terminals of Delhi Airport and set up a 3800 sqm facility within a record time of 7 days to handle Covid-19 related medical essentials. These medical import cargos were stored in separate export zones while following the norms of government of India of social distancing, sanitization and safety,” said the whitepaper.

Soon after the lockdown was imposed, Ministry of Civil Aviation had designated Delhi Airport as one of the hubs for import and distribution of essential medical supplies for fight against Covid-19.
Major airlines which contributed significantly in this process by ferrying international cargo to Delhi are Air India, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, FedEx, Emirates, UPS, Turkish Airlines, etc. covering the destinations like USA, Germany, UAE, United Kingdom, Afghanistan, France, Japan, Hong Kong etc.

While in the domestic sector, Spicejet, Blue Dart, Indigo, Air India Express and government’s ‘Lifeline Udaan’ flights comprising IAF have contributed significantly by increasing their freight movements during COVID19 lockdown to ensure adequate cargo movement for essential medical supplies.
16/07/20 ITLN

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IAG Cargo completes 100th cargo-only flight out of India

IAG Cargo has completed its 100th cargo-only flight out of India on July 9, after hitting the same milestone in Hong Kong in June.

To maximise capacity, IAG Cargo has been operating cargo-only flights out of the country since May 2020 in response to Covid-19. Beginning with flights out of Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Bangalore have since followed suit, and as a result, we’ve been able to transport in excess of 2350 tonnes to date.

IAG Cargo is currently operating daily services out of Mumbai, four weekly services out of Delhi and three weekly services from Bangalore and Hyderabad.

“Among the many shipments we’ve delivered has been a considerable amount – approximately 600 tonnes – of temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals using our Constant Climate product, which has included vaccines to Buenos Aires and Miami,” said the release.
10/07/20 ITLN

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Import of cut flowers permitted only through Chennai airport: DGFT

New Delhi: Import of cut flowers are now allowed only through Chennai airport, according to a notification of the commerce ministry.
Earlier there were no such restrictions on the import of these flowers which include Roses, Carnations, Orchids, Chrysanthemums and Lilies.

"Import policy of cut flowers... continues to remain free. However, import will be through Chennai airport only," Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

DGFT is an arm of the ministry which deals with export and import related issues.
09/07/20 PTI/Outlook

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Oman Air notes increase in cargo charters

Oman Air operated 69 chartered cargo-only flights from April to June, including the highest-ever cargo load the airline has carried.

The airline said that 27 of the flights were operated in coordination with Ministry of Health, using wide-body aircraft, with a total volume of over 386,000 kgs carried.

Another 42 cargo flights contributed to the transportation of over 1m kg of food, commodities and medical equipment to Oman, in coordination with several governmental and private-sector clients.

Three of the flights, from Shenzhen, China, to Salalah, delivered medical supplies for the United Nations’ effort to help people in Yemen.

One flight, an Airbus A330 from Bangalore, India, to Muscat, delivered 49,593 kgs of fruit, vegetables and other perishable food to the Sultanate, which is the heaviest cargo delivery Oman Air has transported in one flight.

The airline delivered cargo from nine cities in India, Pakistan, China, Iran, Malaysia and UAE, for the Royal Oman Police, Ministry of Travel and Tourism, and several commercial customers.
08/07/20 Damian Brett/Aircrago News

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SpiceJet gives fruit first class service

Hong Kong: Indian airline SpiceJet has increased its services during the Covid-19 pandemic to help the Indian fresh produce industry continue to reach customers.

Since India’s lockdown began in March SpiceJet and its cargo division, SpiceXpress, have operated 3,512 cargo flights and carried around 20,200 tonnes of cargo mainly consisting of crucial perishable cargo such as fruits and vegetables.

Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet, said the airline was dedicated to supporting Indians during the lockdown.

“We have always been committed to providing our services during a crisis situation and helping our fellow citizens when they need it the most,” Singh said.

“There wasn’t a single day when SpiceJet did not operate during the nation-wide lockdown carrying thousands of tonnes of medicines and medical equipment and fruits and vegetables to all corners of India and the world.”
08/07/20 Liam O'Callaghan/Fruit Net

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SpiceJet to expand cargo operations

Hyderabad: Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to the need for transporting essential commodities not only within India but across the world. With the increasing need for cargo handling infrastructure and cargo delivery, SpiceJet created warehouses and deployed several aircraft. The company is now evaluating converting more passenger planes into freighters. It is also adding new international destinations and rapidly expanding its network in Africa and CIS countries.

SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh told Telangana Today, “We have a dedicated fleet of eight freighter aircraft, which include five Boeing 737s and three Q400s. Besides our dedicated fleet of cargo jets, we have been actively using our passenger aircraft for cargo-on-seat operations. In fact, SpiceJet is India’s first airline to operate a cargo-on-seat flight, carrying cargo in both passenger cabin and belly space on April 7. Since then, we have been regularly deploying both our B737 and Q400 passenger aircraft to carry cargo in the passenger cabin.”

The cargo operations are spread across India connecting both big and small airports. The company has been transporting a wide-range of cargo, which includes medical & surgical supplies, sanitisers, face masks, coronavirus rapid test kits, infrared (IR) thermometers, blood samples, ventilators, medical equipment, cold chain medical supplies, farm produce, fresh fruits and vegetables, automobile parts, mail, electronics, mobile phones, fish seeds, shrimps, diamonds, livestock etc. The average load carrying capacity of its aircraft ranges from eight to 22 tons.

The company’s international cargo network spans across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The company is operating regular cargo flights to farer destinations in African & CIS countries and Russia. Top three destinations are China, UAE and Bahrain where medicines, perishables (including fruits, vegetables and shrimps) and livestock are supplied.

SpiceJet has operated close to 3,400 cargo flights since the lockdown began and carried over 20,000 tons of cargo, which the company says is more than double that of all domestic airlines combined together. About 55 per cent of the cargo moved by the company is domestic, he informed.
05/07/20 Y V Phani Raj/Telangana Today

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Delhi Airport rolls out e-gate pass facility at cargo terminal

Mumbai: The GMR group-run Delhi Airport on Wednesday announced the rollout of an e-gate pass facility at its cargo terminal, which is expected to reduce physical contact of a person in gaining entry to the complex besides making the entire process hassle-free. 
The first paperless and contactless QR-coded e-gate pass facility at the cargo terminal has come up in association with Celebi and DSCC, the two cargo terminal operators, as well as Delhi Cargo Brokers Association, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a release.

DIAL is a joint venture between a GMR Group-led consortium and the Airports Authority of India.

According to DIAL, the move is in line with the announcement at a recent Permanent Trade Facilitation Committee (PTFC) that the e-gate pass facility would be open to all stakeholders, effective July 1, as an optional service and mandatory from July 15.

This initiative is aimed at minimising human contact in these challenging COVID-19 times. The e-gate pass facility for import cargo delivery will not only help in ensuring social distancing by reducing human contact at the terminal, but will also expedite the process and save time, the airport operator said.

With new mechanism for entry in place at the cargo terminal, the airlines, consolidators or freight forwarders will now have to upload the scanned copy of Master Airway Bill/House Airway Bill in the custodian system, it said, adding that the Bill of Entry (BoE) and Out of Charge (OoC) will be transmitted electronically by the Customs to the custodian system.
01/07/20 PTI/Outlook

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