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Saudia Cargo begins Dhaka-Frankfurt route

Saudia Cargo has launched a scheduled freighter route connecting Dhaka, Bangladesh, to Frankfurt, Germany in a bid to cater for pharmaceuticals, textiles, industrial equipment, and e-commerce air cargo demand. The service began on 14 August and comprises two weekly flights that Saudia Cargo said would enhance trade flow and logistics efficiency between Asian and European markets and help it provide faster air cargo transit times for shippers and freight forwarders. Bangladesh serves as a vital manufacturing and export hub in Asia -- particularly for ready-made garments, textiles, and perishable goods -- while Frankfurt represents one of Europe's primary logistics hubs and financial centers In addition to the new route between Dhaka and Frankfurt, Saudia Cargo has recently begun operating a scheduled route between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Melbourne, Australia. Saudia Cargo and Riyadh Cargo have also signed an interline agreement with the goal of offering freight forwarders and logistics partners broader network access, enhanced routing options, and improved cargo connectivity and flexibility across key international trade corridors. These recent network expansions further support Riyadh Cargo's long-term ambition to serve more than 100 global destinations by 2030. The airline's new services are supported by ongoing fleet investments, including a recent order for four newbuild Boeing 777-200 freighters.

Major airlines are lining up their freighters on the runway at NMIA

Cargo airlines serving India are adapting and responding to the operational disruption at Mumbai Airport by reorganising services out of Navi Mumbai International (NMIA), Adani Group's newest investment in the country. Because of extensive airside infrastructure improvement works, Mumbai Airport -- under severe capacity strain for some time -- has imposed temporary restrictions on freighter operations until next May. NMIA, which opened in late 2025, claims as many as 13 new freighter services are set to take off soon, connecting major markets across Asia and Europe. And yesterday, Hong Kong Air Cargo yesterday became its first international freighter operator, with a service on behalf of DHL Global Forwarding. The all-cargo carrier will operate thrice-weekly flights between Hong Kong and NMIA with an A330-200F freighter it says has the capacity to carry 60 tons. The airport authority said: "With phased, scalable, and tech-enabled cargo infrastructure designed for domestic, international express and specialised shipments, NMIA continues to strengthen its role as an integrated logistics and trade gateway for Maharashtra State and Western India," it added. With Hong Kong-based Cathay Cargo and Air France-KLM having reportedly finalised plans to shift hub operations from Mumbai to NMIA, home-grown freighter lines like IndiGo-led CarGo and Chennai-based Afcom Holdings have already made their debut, and last month, Tata Group-owned Air India opened up belly cargo space for Indian exports on services to Abu Dhabi. Adani has ambitious air cargo development plans for NMIA, targeting to handle some 800,000 tons of cargo in the initial phase of operations, scaling up to three million tons in phases. Indian air cargo industry stakeholders have upbeat expectations from the new terminal, as trade volumes pick up pace. Combined cargo volumes handled by Indian airports surged 16% year on year in June, with international freight handling up 19% for the month, according to the latest data. "NMIA is poised to be the new freighter hub for India in the coming years," Mumbai-based industry veteran Joy John told The Loadstar. "Several major carriers, including Lufthansa, Emirates, Turkish, and FedEx, will start operating their freighters from Navi Mumbai, subject to internal approvals and SOPs [standard operating procedures] being aligned with the cargo terminal," he reckoned. Vineet Malhotra, co-founder and director at Kale Logistics Solutions, which provides cargo community system services at NNMIA, said the airport was "developing at a remarkable pace and is well positioned to realise its long-term capacity". He added: "The next-generation of airports will not compete simply on physical capacity, they will compete on how intelligently they move cargo, connect stakeholders, predict disruptions, and facilitate trade." Historically, Gulf carriers have dominated the Indian airfreight market, presently accounting for some 20% of total capacity, but Indian airlines are now working harder than ever to grab a slice of the freight boom.

Toll Global Forwarding restructure - plus: group covenants, other musings

Here's a follow-up to loss-making Toll Group and divestments Part 1, released yesterday. First off, before moving to Global Forwarding and its restructuring - given the 3PL's soaring debt load, let's quickly expand on debt covenants and how the Australian group perceives the risk of breaching them. (Don't hold your breath.) As expected, relative/absolute covenant levels were undisclosed in the ASIC filing lodged at the end of July. However, Toll duly noted that borrowings are subject to "financial and general covenants", including requirements ...