
LATAM to offload stake in cargo airline Mas Air
LATAM airlines has reached a preliminary agreement for the sale of its stake in Aerotransportes Mas de Carga (Mas Air), also known as LATAM Cargo Mexico, for an undisclosed sum. The stake will be purchased by a group led by current shareholders of Mas Air, with the deal expected to be executed in early August of this year. According to Flight Radar, the airline operates a single Boeing 767-300ERF offering flights between Mexico and the US, either Miami or Los Angeles. The tra

Volga-Dnepr to withdraw from An-124 freighter uplift contract for western military
Russia-based freighter aircraft group Volga-Dnepr has served notice that it is to quit the Strategic Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS) contract which provides airlift for European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries. Two Antonov 124-100 aircraft, one each from Moscow-based Volga-Dnepr and Antonov SALIS, a subsidiary of Ukraines' Antonov Group, have been permanently stationed at Germany's Leipzig/Halle airport since March 2006 as part of the SALIS

Record pharma flight for ABC
Russian carrier AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has carried a record 19 va-Q-tainers XLx on a single flight for Biotech & Pharma Logistics. The passive containers, weighing around 15 tonnes in total, were delivered to Frankfurt ready to ‘load and go’ onboard one of ABC’s Boeing 747-8F services to their final destination at Moscow Sheremetyevo airport. Fedor Novikov, global director, pharma for ABC, said: “This is the first time AirBridgeCargo has provided a logistics solution f

AirBridge launches scheduled freighter services at Rickenbacker
AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) will become the fifth freighter operator to provide scheduled services at Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK) in Columbus, Ohio. The Russia-based carrier joins a network of logistics service providers at the US cargo-dedicated airport, which is located within a one-day drive to nearly half of the US population and one-third of the Canadian population. ABC’s inaugural flight will land April 5, and weekly scheduled flights will continue on Thu

Cargolux renews GDP certification for pharma logistics
European freighter operator Cargolux Airlines has renewed its Good Distribution Practice (GDP) qualification for transporting pharmaceuticals after passing the its surveillance audit. Cargolux became the world’s first GDP certified airline in January 2014, confirming its compliance with European Union (EU) GDP and World Health Organisation (WHO) requirements for a consistent quality management system across the transportation process. Cargolux’s hub at Luxembourg airport as w

Volga-Dnepr in LNG project flights
Volga-Dnepr Airlines has performed two flights from Novy Urengoy to Sabetta in Russia delivering 130 tonnes of industrial equipment for ‘Yamal-LNG’, one of the world’s largest gas recovery projects. Volga-Dnepr transported a 30-tonne high pressure pump and other gas recovery cargo weighing a total of approximately 130 tonnes onboard two An-124-100 flights on behalf of Russian logistics firm AeroTransCargo. The equipment is being installed at a liquefied natural gas plant bein

West Atlantic sells two ATP freighters
West Atlantic has announced the sale of two BAE ATP freighters to Nairobi-based EnComm Ltd as part of its strategy to move the aircraft outside of Europe. The agreement also includes commitments for spares, engineering and training support to assist the assigned operator in setting up its operation. "This transaction marks the first step in reallocating our ATP aircraft portfolio into markets and geographies that can capitalise in full on the benefits of this efficient turbop

Southern Air to launch Miami-Hong Kong service
Southern Air will begin a weekly all-cargo service between Miami International Airport (MIA) and Hong Kong via Anchorage from April. The new scheduled freighter flights will be served by Boeing B777F aircraft. MIA said that Hong Kong is its fourth largest market in Asia, responsible for more than $500m in freight annually. In 2017, MIA’s trade with the entire Asia world region was valued at $7.8bn – a 16% increase from $6.7bn in 2016. "We are thrilled to add Southern Air to o
Lufthansa Cargo sets out a strategy for growth
Lufthansa Cargo boss Peter Gerber admits that the airline’s management did not foresee the air cargo boom of 2017: “We were wrong”. To be fair to the chief executive and chairman of the executive board of Lufthansa Cargo, he was not alone in failing to appreciate that surge of cargo volumes from 2016’s fourth quarter would continue throughout 2017. One year after forecasting a Lufthansa Cargo result of “slightly below zero” for 2017 and a positive balance sheet only in 2018,