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2026 Air Cargo News Award winners revealed!

The 2026 Air Cargo News Awards - the 42nd edition - celebrated innovation and excellence in the air cargo industry, with winners across 10 categories. More than 200 people attended this year's awards at the 5-star Royal Lancaster London hotel where comedian Seann Walsh announced the winners following a drinks reception and three-course meal. The first award of the afternoon was the Air Cargo Pharma award, which was sponsored by Hactl and scooped by SATS. LATAM Cargo and Qatar Airways Cargo were highly commended. Next up was the Air Cargo Charter Project of the Year, which was sponsored by Network Airline Services. The winner was JCS Livestock. IAG Cargo's Jazzmin Gallimore-Cox picked up the Awery Aviation Software-sponsored Young Airfreight Professional of the Year. This award was introduced in recent years, in recognition of the dynamic young individuals helping to shape the future of airfreight. Coaching partners, neAira Executive Performance & SHK Solutions, will donate four months of executive performance coaching to Jazzmin. She will also receive a prize of £500. Ground Handler of the Year was awarded to Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl). Additionally, dnata picked up a highly commended certificate. Following was the Innovation Award - Digital, sponsored by WEXCO Cargo GSSA. This year the award was won by SAL Logistics Services. Additionally, Cathay Cargo was highly commended. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport sponsored the Innovation Award - Product category, which Qatar Airways Cargo won. Hactl also received a highly commended certificate. Taking home the trophy for the GSSA of the Year, sponsored by Etihad Cargo, was FlyUs Aviation Group. Then the Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services-sponsored Cargo Hub of the Year accolade went to Hong Kong International Airport. The dnata-sponsored Air Cargo Environment category was cinched by Eltete TPM. Hactl was highly commended. The final award of the afternoon was the highly sought-after Cargo Airline of the Year. Amongst tough competition, LATAM Cargo emerged to be the winner of the award, sponsored by FlyUs Aviation Group. Cathay Cargo achieved a highly commended certificate in the category. Congratulations to all the winners at the 2026 Air Cargo News Awards! Well done to all the shortlisted and highly commended companies and a massive thanks to all our sponsors. We appreciate the time and effort from everyone involved that has helped make the awards an exciting and enjoyable celebration of the air cargo industry. A full gallery of pictures from the evening can be found at aircargonewsawards.net over the coming days.

Etihad Cargo flies rescued bears from Russia to Ireland

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Cargo has flown two rescued brown bears from Russia to their new home at Wild Ireland, a wildlife sanctuary in County Donegal. Bu, a former circus bear, and Tyapa, who had been kept at a petting zoo, spent years living in what are said to have been unsuitable conditions in Dagestan, Russia. They landed in Ireland on 4 August 2026, an event that marked the successful conclusion of a five-year international rescue effort led by Killian McLaughlin, founder and director of Wild Ireland, one that involved more than 100 people in various countries. Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of UAE flag-carrier Etihad Airways, flew the bears from Moscow to Dublin via its hub in Abu Dhabi. The carrier worked closely with Abu Dhabi Airports and Velora, its teams coordinating the specialist handling and transit arrangements required for the bears at Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport. Stanislas Brun, chief cargo officer at Etihad, commented: "At Etihad Cargo, we believe our global network and expertise can play a meaningful role in supporting wildlife conservation and animal welfare. "Bu and Tyapa's rescue is a powerful example of how collaboration can give animals a second chance at life." The bears were moved into their new forest habitat at Wild Ireland last month. Killian McLaughlin, founder and director of Wild Ireland, declared: "After five years of challenges, seeing Bu and Tyapa finally reach their new home is incredibly rewarding. "This rescue would not have been possible without the kindness, determination and collaboration of people across multiple countries. Together, we have given these bears the chance of a better life." Etihad Cargo's has IATA CEIV Live Animals certification, reflecting its commitment to meeting high standards in animal transportation. In another recent animal shipment, last month FedEx flew two giant pandas from China to the US aboard a Boeing 777 freighter known as the "FedEx Panda Express". The airline said that it worked with Zoo Atlanta to move six-year-old male Ping Ping and five-year-old female Fu Shuang, from Chengdu, China to Atlanta, Georgia. In August LATAM Cargo announced that it had operated a dedicated charter flight transporting eight tigers and seven lions from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Denver, Colorado in the US, with a technical stop in Santiago, Chile. The flight was carried out following a rescue operation by animal welfare organisation Four Paws International, with the big cats being relocated to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. And, around the same time, TAAG Angola Airlines transported two adult lions from South Africa to Nigeria via Angola. The lions, weighing approximately 200 kgs each, began their journey in Johannesburg, South Africa, where they were under the care and supervision of wildlife conservation specialists.

Pressure remains on China-EU e-commerce volumes as new charge looms

China's e-commerce volumes continued to decline in September, while the European Union is set to add another charge for low-cost packages being imported into the bloc in November to pile on the pressure. Figures from consultant Aevean show that low-value e-commerce tonnes flown from China to the EU were down by 50% year on year in September. This has led to an overall decline in low-value Chinese e-commerce air exports of 4% year on year over the first nine months of the year, while in September the decline reached 19% compared with a year ago. While volume declines to Europe led the way in September, there was also a 5% fall from China to the rest of the Asia Pacific region, 4% to North America and 13% to the Middle East and South Asia. Aevean managing director Marco Bloemen said that the 50% drop-off to Europe reflected the EU's decision to add a €3 duty per product type for each parcel with a value of less than €150 being imported into the bloc in July. Bloemen pointed out that a second €2 handling charge is set to be added on 1 November. Dutch advisory firm Holdwise said the €2 charge will also be by product type. As an example of how the extra charge will push up the cost of e-commerce goods, Holdwise calculated the cost of bringing in a China-made T-shirt and watch directly from China compared with stock held in the Netherlands. Its calculations show that a package containing a watch and T-shirt would cost around €9.50 more to process directly from China. "As a parcel from outside the EU, [it is] €19.50 per order. That is €6 duty, €4 handling fee, €7 for postage and customs clearance, and €2.50 for storage and packing," the company explained. "From stock in the Netherlands, [it is] €10.00 per order. That is €2 in normal duty, €0.50 for seafreight and clearance, €2.50 for storage and packing, and €5 for delivery in the EU." Holdwise added that in September and August, Dutch Customs reported about 70% fewer e-commerce declaration lines compared with the same months a year earlier.