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New road feeder association to tackle issues facing air cargo truckers

Road feeder operators have teamed up to launch a new association that aims to tackle the issues facing the market, such as slot booking, and to launch a standardised contract. The International Road Feeder Association (IRFA) was announced at the Aviation Connect event that took place in Athens this week, with six firms initially signing up to the group: Arthur Welter Transport, Georgi Transport, Wallenborn Transport, Jan de Rijk from Europe, Thor Xpress from the US and Wymap Transport from Australia. Speaking at a press conference to announce the association, association chairperson and secretary Henrik Ambak explained that road feeder services (RFS) were becoming an increasingly important part of airline cargo operations and in Europe one third of all air cargo starts or ends its journey with an RFS service. Ambak added that the association is open to more members joining its ranks and highlighted its international reach. "The topic of IRFA is to represent the RFS industry and other stakeholders. It could be recommending best practice on security, sustainability, safety, documentation, process and systems, participating in the elaboration of relevant regulations, acting as a contact organisation for authorities, and providing training and information dissemination to the sector." Issues that the association will aim to address include a recommended standard contract and service level agreement; standards for slot allocation at airport cargo terminals; data standards for cargo on the road to support real-time cargo visibility; sustainability; and improving driver access to facilities at airport cargo terminals. The IRFA said that slot allocation at airports is one of the biggest challenges faced by RFS operators, which "lose many truck and driver hours due to insufficient slot allocation at airport cargo terminals...which often further can lead to service failures as flight connections are missed or ready for pick-up promises not met". "[The] IRFA wishes, with the ground handlers, to create solid standards for slot allocation for truck loading and off-loading, reducing service failures and increasing service efficiency," the association said. A standardised contract, meanwhile, would help tender, contracting and service follow-up processes for airlines and RFS providers. The contract would act as a framework with commercial terms being negotiated bilaterally between each airline and each RFS provider. On sustainability, the association said it aimed to help with the development of more charging points and hydrogen refuelling stations at airports, the lack of which is a blockage to the development of more environmentally friendly road operations. Improving driver facilities would help attract more people to the industry, which is currently facing a driver shortage, the members explained. The not-for-profit organisation is in the process of being registered in Luxembourg. The leadership board will be made up of: Ambak; Michael Rau, chief sales officer, Arthur Welter Transport; Christian Georgi, chief operating officer, Georgi Transport; Ram Menon, chief operating officer, Wallenborn Transport; David Smorenburg, business development manager, Jan de Rijk; Kirk Ejdys, owner, Thor Xpress; and Justin Bailey, chief executive, Wymap Transport. The members said it was the first association of this type. Menon said that the idea for the association started two years ago at a previous Aviation Connect event. "We are normally forgotten, but if the trucks don't run, the planes don't fly full. We have never had a voice and the whole purpose of this is to give us a voice so we can go to the industry and bring something to the industry on a structural level and on a tangible level," said Menon.

My Freighter continues fleet expansion with another Boeing 767

Fast-growing cargo airline My Freighter has continued the expansion of its fleet with the addition of another Boeing 767 aircraft. The Uzbekistan-based cargo airline said the 55-tonne 767-300 capacity aircraft (UK67023) will bring more flexibility and allow more options for imports and imports and exports through its Tashkent hub, as well as stronger connections between Asia and Europe. "Every aircraft we add strengthens our ability to connect Central Asia with the markets that matter to our customers and partners," the airline said. The aircraft is named after Zahiriddin Muhammad Bobur, a native of Andijan, poet, statesman and founder of the Mughal Empire. According to Planespotters.net, the airline currently operates a fleet of 10 767 freighters. The Centrum Holding-owned carrier also has a Boeing 757 freighter. The carrier operates flights between Central Asia, Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, Europe and North America. The airline has been increasing its operations between Asia and Europe and most recently added extra flights to Liege. Starting in July, the carrier upped flight frequencies to the Belgian hub to daily. Also, in March, Tashkent-hubbed My Freighter began operating new routes between Asia and Frankfurt Airport in Germany. And in January, My Freighter also announced it would add scheduled cargo flights from Hong Kong International Airport to Maastricht Aachen Airport in the Netherlands via its main hub at Tashkent. Interline partnerships, most recently with Air Canada and Singapore Airlines, are also helping My Freighter grow its network, while it has added a GSA partnerships with Group Concorde.

Fleet expansion fuels Emirates SkyCargo's South American demand growth

Emirates SkyCargo's South American network expansion has led to double-digit percentage volume increases. Earlier this year, the Dubai-based carrier added seven weekly freighter flights from the region, including three extra flights from Buenos Aires, two additional flights from Sao Paulo, one from Bogota and another from Quito. Emirates SkyCargo said the additional flights had facilitated a "significant increase" in export volumes in the first half of the 2025/26 financial year, with Argentina growing by 57% year on year, Brazil by 22%, 18% from Colombia and 14% from Ecuador. Badr Abbas, divisional senior vice president, Emirates SkyCargo, said: "South America is a dynamic emerging hub for exports across a range of sectors including high-quality food products and fresh flowers that rely on fast and reliable air cargo connectivity to reach global customers. "Since April this year, we have transported more than 22,000 tonnes of export cargo from our South American markets, a growth of 18% over the volumes carried during the same period in the previous year." Drilling further into the increases, the carrier said that from Ecuador, the carrier was now flying six times a week and offering export capacity of around 600 tonnes. The flights go directly from Quito to Amsterdam, which is host to one of the world's largest flower markets. Flowers account for more than 90% of all export cargo uplifted from Ecuador by Emirates SkyCargo. During the financial year 25/26 the cargo business transported nearly 24,000 tonnes of flowers. Meanwhile, the carrier added a weekly freighter flight from Bogota in May and it has helped meet demand for flower exports. "In Financial year 25/26, the carrier transported more than 3,500 tonnes of flowers from the country, supporting producers with reliable access to international markets," Emirates said. For Argentina, the carrier commenced weekly freighter operations from Buenos Aires in March and in July increased to three weekly freighter flights. Since April 2024, Emirates SkyCargo has facilitated the movement of approximately 5,000 tonnes of exports from Argentina, including perishables such as fresh fruit, salmon and meat products. Finally, for Brazil, Emirates SkyCargo now flies four times per week from Sao Paulo "supporting the movement of a broad range of commodities to destinations across its international network". The extra flights have been enabled by the expansion of the Emirates fleet. The cargo carrier has taken delivery of seven Boeing 777 production freighter aircraft since March 2026 as well as the first Boeing 777-300ERSF converted from an Emirates passenger aircraft. By the end of March 2027, the carrier will operate a fleet of 23 dedicated freighter aircraft. Globally, the air cargo carrier has expanded its global network of freighter destinations from just over 40 in March 2026 to over 60 by July 2026.