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Central Asia air cargo demand growth presents charter challenges

Air cargo demand in the central Asia region has been on the rise in recent years, but building charter operations to meet the growing number of infrastructure projects does have its challenges. Speaking at the Central Asia Air Cargo Summit, Chapman Freeborn vice president of cargo for the India, Middle East, Africa region Gerhard Coetzee highlighted the speed of demand growth in the region. He said that the region needs to invest around $33bn annually in infrastructure projects while trade through the so-called Middle Corridor is set to triple by 2030. Growth in mining, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing is also creating more demand for heavy, oversized, time-critical and project cargo, he added. "The important point is that cargo demand is increasingly being generated inside Central Asia - rather than simply passing through it," said Coetzee. "Every one of these sectors creates a different type of cargo requirement, and not all of that cargo can move efficiently through a scheduled network." Coetzee added that while connectivity to and from central Asia is improving, with China increasingly connected with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and scheduled links with Europe are also developing, that does not always mean the right type of capacity is available. He said this is particularly important for project cargo as an aircraft may have sufficient available payload, but the cargo may be too large for the aircraft type, the required route may not be available at the right time, or the airports involved may not have the infrastructure to handle the movement. "There is an air cargo network, but it isn't necessarily designed around the cargo that these new industries are generating," Coetzee said. He explained that a scheduled service may work well for standard freight, but a heavy industrial component moving to a remote destination against a project deadline creates a different requirement altogether. There are also airport limitations when it comes to handling larger aircraft such as the Boeing 747s, Boeing 777s and AN-134s. Cargo such as a 70-tonne transformer or 16-metre pipes requires suitable loading equipment, runway capability and specialist handling. Permits and regulatory approvals add another layer, while winter weather and de-icing can affect both timing and operating cost, he said. Coetzee concluded that as Central Asia becomes more integrated into global supply chains, the challenge will not simply be how much air cargo capacity exists in the region - it will be whether companies can access the right capacity, in the right place and at the point when their project requires it. The growth of demand levels has been one of the major developments this year as cargo airlines have been looking to alternatives to the Middle East due to ongoing conflicts in the region. Sources have also suggested that Chinese e-commerce platforms are utilising the region to move some shipments to the US.

Colombia 'absolutely booming', as ecommerce squeezes air cargo capacity

A huge rise in Colombia's ecommerce imports are putting pressure on inbound air cargo capacity, with airlines and operators reporting thousands of tonnes arriving each week and demand for space continuing to grow. "Colombia is absolutely booming," said one airfreight wholesaler that specialises in perishables. "It's incredible the amount of business going into Colombia." The wholesaler estimated weekly ecommerce imports at 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes - a figure supported by LATAM Cargo's market intelligence. He said one customer currently moving around 1,000 tonnes a week wanted to double that volume, but all available capacity was being taken immediately. LATAM's own imported ecommerce volumes on the US-Colombia corridor rose 53% in January-August. compared with the same period last year. Simón Benzaquen, North America sales VP at LATAM Cargo Group, told The Loadstar: "This strong performance was driven by an increase in operational frequencies into Bogotá, combined with the development and expansion of new regional destinations to streamline delivery times for end consumers." Meanwhile, figures supplied by analytics company Rotate indicate that ecommerce demand is growing faster than available capacity. In its latest three-month comparison with the preceding period, Rotate recorded a 16.8% increase in ecommerce demand into Colombia, while overall cargo demand rose 1.1%. Capacity declined 6.7%. Against the equivalent three-month period last year, ecommerce demand increased 11.9%, overall demand rose 5.7% and capacity grew 4.7%. The figures suggest a tightening market for inbound space, particularly for parcel traffic. The wholesaler described a trade that pairs southbound ecommerce with northbound perishables, and said Colombia had become a recurring topic among industry contacts at the recent European cross-border ecommerce event in Liege. "Everybody I spoke to there was talking about Colombia, Colombia, Colombia," he said. LATAM estimates approximately 99% of Colombia's ecommerce import tonnage enters through Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, and Barranquilla. Its market intelligence indicates cross-border ecommerce demand has been growing at approximately 5% month on month this year. Mr Benzaquen said LATAM was developing direct import services into regional gateways to shorten delivery times and improve network efficiency. However, suggestions that the Colombian surge could partly reflect shipments being redirected to neighbouring markets remain unconfirmed. The wholesaler questioned whether some imports might be travelling onwards, to Venezuela or Brazil. LATAM, by contrast, said the import volumes it processed into Bogotá were intended for Colombian consumers. The airline also said it maintained direct access to Venezuela during the temporary disruption to its Caracas service, using recovery flights into Valencia rather than routing those shipments through Colombia. Those flights carried more than 180 tonnes of ecommerce cargo during the interruption. LATAM offers more than 100 tonnes of weekly capacity across Caracas and Valencia, which Mr Benzaquen said fully met current demand. A second weekly Miami-Caracas frequency is scheduled to begin in November, taking capacity above 150 tonnes.

Air France KLM Martinair to add Cairo as freighter link this winter

Announcing its 2026-27 winter network, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP Cargo) is to serve a total of 14 freighter destinations, as well as fly cargo to 112 cities - including those offered by partner Delta - across the joint Franco-Dutch flag-carrier's passenger network during the Northern Hemisphere winter months. The group announced it is adding a new freighter connection to Cairo in Egypt, as well as introducing Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Malé in the Maldives as widebody bellyhold cargo connections to its winter network, which extends from 25 October to 27 March next year. The freight network is based on the carrier's two hubs at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The Egyptian capital will be served three times a week by Boeing 777F aircraft. And in another change to the all-cargo network, an Air France freighter will this winter fly to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMI) instead of Mumbai (BOM), the connection operated by twice-weekly 777F flights. Meanwhile, the KLM/Martinair Boeing 747 freighter network will link Amsterdam to key markets across the Americas, Africa and Asia. In one change this winter, services to and from Seoul from/to Schiphol will operate three times a week, made up of one direct connection and two flights offering a Hong Kong link. Changes to the AFKLMP Cargo bellyhold network this winter from Paris Charles de Gaulle will see Punta Cana served three times a week by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from November, and Malé twice a week by Airbus A350-900 from December. Plus, seasonal services to Ottawa, Canada, and Barbados will also be restored. Joint venture partner Delta Cargo meanwhile offers cargo capacity on North Atlantic services to and from Europe. 'Demanding season' Said Pierre-Olivier Bandet, executive vice president cargo at Air France-KLM: "Winter is a demanding season for our customers, from the year-end peak to the flower season in the run-up to Valentine's Day. "We combine dedicated maindeck capacity with the reach of our widebody and European belly networks via Paris and Amsterdam." In addition, Bandet noted: "With our new services to Cairo, Punta Cana and Malé, we offer our customers reliable capacity, flexibility and more choice throughout the season." In other recent news from AFKLMP Cargo, it was confirmed last month (September) that the carrier had launched a vacuum lifting aid in its build-up and break-down operation at the KLM Cargo Hub at Schiphol in an effort to make cargo handling less physically demanding. The vacuum lifting aid from Swedish company LiftsAll supports employees in handling individual cargo boxes when breaking down pallets, significantly reducing the physical effort involved in lifting and moving cargo.