Air Freight News
Below are links to stories relating to air freight
Iceland volcano: Kenya’s farmers losing $1.3m a day in flights chaos
Kenyan farmers are dumping tonnes of vegetables and flowers destined for the UK, 4 days after the volcanic ash cloud over Europe grounded cargo flight. Kenyan farms have laid off 5,000 staff. Kenya's flower council says the country is haemorrhaging $1.3m a day in lost shipments to Europe. Kenya normally exports up to 500 tonnes of flowers daily. AAA growers ship 10-15 tonne tonnes of produce daily and has donated or dumped 50-60 tonnes of vegetables.
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Overnight Delivery to Europe? Not While the Volcano Is Spewing
International shipping companies are scrambling to keep their operations moving, as volcanic ash closes down air traffic across much of Europe. UPS says its services are closed indefinitely and storing packages till they can resume. Some DHL planes re-route to alternative hubs, such as Italy, with shipments then traveling via ground transportation. Lorry delivery only means the goods arrive a day later. So it all this night cargo flying really so crucial?
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Manston, Kent: Air Cargo Carrier MK Airlines Suspends Flights
MK Airlines, which operated 2 or 3 B747 freighters from Manston, has suspended operations because of financial problems and returned its operating licence and air operator’s certificate to the UK CAA. The freighter operator suspended operations on Friday, having told customers it had become impossible, with its current financial resources, to maintain the service and safety levels expected. Staff wages have not been paid in full for some time. (Various)
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Frankfurt: Lufthansa Cargo waits on night-flight verdict
Lufthansa Cargo will invest hundreds of millions of euros in a new freight center at Frankfurt airport provided it retains the right to operate night flights. A proposed ban on night flights could scupper the plan, and it claims it needs 23 flights per night. In 2009 the state of Hesse limited airlines to 17 flights between 11pm and 5am per night, down from 41. (Air Cargo World)
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Cargo boost for Stansted Airport – up 14.2% compared to January 2009
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Flying in the face of a ban – the IL-76 freighter
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Airplane fairing panel falls on Miami mall parking lot
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2009: IATA says air freight had its worst year’s decline but year-end improvements
Global air freight rose by + 24.4% in December, compared to Dec 2008 - which gives an exaggerated view, as Dec 2008 tonnage was very low. Global freight demand is still 9% lower than the peak in early 2008. Freight showed a full-year decline during 2009 of 10.1% with an average load factor of 49.1%. European carriers remain 20% below 2008 peak levels. Giovanni Bisignani said "We have permanently lost 3.5 years of growth in the freight business".
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Russia To Build Advanced AN-124?
Volga-Dnepr, which currently operates ten of the huge AN-124-100 aircraft, says worldwide demand for outsize cargo airplanes has grown 30% per year since 2004. Between 2007 and 2008, the market rose from $768 million to $1.1 billion. Volga-Dnepr says there will be a requirement for 70 AN-124-type airplanes by 2030. It wants 20 upgraded AN-124s for delivery between 2011 and 2020 and a further 20 from 2021 to 2027. (Air Cargo World)
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