Cargo Facts Connect

Boston-based Merlin and its New Zealand-based affiliate, Merlin NZ, are working hard to certify the Merlin Pilot autonomous flight software in New Zealand next year. Merlin NZ is prepared to shoulder the load to ensure Merlin Pilot is put into commercial freighter service after certification by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAANZ), Merlin NZ Chief Executive Grant Crenfeldt says in t...

After beginning revenue service with Australia’s first Beech 1900D Super Freighter at the end of May, GAM Air will soon take delivery of another. The carrier signed a deal this year to purchase three aircraft from Provo, Utah-based Alpine Air Express to operate for Team Global Express in Australia under a ten-year contract. The first unit (UE-254) arrived in April. GAM Air started to seriously eva...

The airfreight industry should focus on attracting talent, implementing open data standards and providing flexibility for the rest of 2026 and beyond, according to Flexport. “We have a lot of experienced people today approaching retirement, and the pipeline behind them is very, very thin in all roles: in operations, in customs, in commercial roles,” Milena Milenkovic, head of airfreight for the EM...

Freighter operators remain optimistic about the prospects for the industry and its resilience in dealing with crises, drawing from the handling of disruption caused by the Iran war. As the war broke out on Feb. 28, Compass Air Cargo and Atlas Air were among the many carriers that collectively had fifty or so freighters stuck in the region . Atlas, for one, had a 777F (69788) in Abu Dhabi (AUH) and...

Chapman Freeborn has been especially busy fielding charter requests since the outbreak of the Iran war at the end of February, as airspace closures led to grounded aircraft and a sudden drop in capacity. “It is true that aviation is a very volatile industry,” Group Chief Executive Saska Gerasimova says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.” “So, it’s not about whether a crisis will happe...

Carsten Hernig, deputy general manager, VP of sales and marketing and production at Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal, has implemented a flexible strategy for the cargo facility as the Iran war continues to shift trade volumes and cargo flight schedules, he says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”   With Shanghai (PVG) one of the major airports connecting the Asia-P...

Lima Airport Partners Chief Commercial Officer Norbert Onkelbach expects his new facility to expand its air cargo market share, he says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”   Onkelbach sat down with Cargo Facts at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Peru, this week to discuss the capabilities of Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM), which “has undergone a significant expansion,...

Brandon Fried may be retiring as executive director of the Airforwarders Association at the end of the year, but he intends to remain active with the industry, he says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.” After leading the Airforwarders Association for more than twenty years, Fried looks forward to aiding the industry’s growth independently, noting that there is still much work to be d...

Amerijet will continue to focus on Latin America as a major source of growth for its scheduled and charter business in 2026. “More volume is going into Central and South America versus the U.S., and with de minimis, trade patterns certainly have changed,” Chief Executive Joe Mozzali says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.” “So, we’ve seen a lot of demand for e-commerce in various coun...

Columbia Metropolitan Airport wants to play a larger role in the air cargo industry and serve as a less congested alternative to airports including Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International and Charlotte Douglas International. The South Carolina Department of Commerce awarded Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) a $5 million grant in 2024 to acquire new ground service equipment and renovate its we...

EnComm Aviation’s regional freighter operations came to an abrupt halt in September 2025, causing the carrier to write off more than $100 million after BAE Systems surrendered its ATP aircraft type certificate to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. EnComm had made multiple investments building its infrastructure, including heavy maintenance repairs for its ATP fleet, when it learned of BA...

Airlines lose control when they outsource heavy maintenance, and that could be the root cause of the fatal crash of UPS flight 2976, according to a former FAA airworthiness inspector and NTSB major accident investigator.    UPS’ CF6-powered, 1991-vintage MD-11F (48417) failed to maintain its climb and crashed after its left engine separated from the wing during takeoff from Louisville, Ky. (SDF)....

A new A300 freighter operator is entering the market next year. Chex Air, which has offices in Dubai and Miami, expects to begin flying an A300-600F around March 2026 to connect Africa and the Middle East with South America, Head of Operations Sebastian Bolivar says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at the Dubai Airshow 2025. The aircraft will be on lease from United Arab E...

With the thirty-first annual Cargo Facts Symposium less than a week away, Cargo Facts checked in with four event speakers to discuss some key industry developments that attendees will hear about at the event. A highlight will be a panel discussion on the various 777 conversions, Anna Kopinski, director of asset valuations at mba Aviation, says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.” “I’m...

Aircraft cybersecurity is a vital — but often overlooked — part of protecting commercial aviation from bad actors, which is why Cyviation specializes in aircraft risk assessments and solutions. Herzliya, Israel-based Cyviation, founded in 2021, offers intelligence and monitoring solutions to map possible cyber threats to aircraft and related aviation systems. Cyviation determines vulnerabilities a...

Airfreight technology provider CargoAi is using advanced AI software to automate quoting, tracking, emailing and payments. The company this week launched a unified AI agent to integrate multiple AI functions and tools into a single autonomous software solution. “The next stage of this AI revolution is the AI agent,” CargoAi founder and Chief Executive Matt Petot says in this week’s episode of “Car...

Miami-based startup carrier 7Air Cargo is entering its third month of full commercial operations and gaining experience that is benefiting its parent, The Xtreme Group. 7Air Cargo, formed by The Xtreme Group (TXG), received FAA Part 121 approval in February and began air cargo service in May. It now operates two 737-800SFs and one 737-800BCF , and expects to put a fourth 737-800 freighter into ser...

French Polynesia-based Motu Link Airline will soon provide dedicated freighter service across the French Polynesian archipelago as part of the startup’s strategy to align with local ocean shippers and freight forwarders to establish a reliable logistics support system for businesses and residents. “Motu Link Airline was created to meet a clear logistical need across French Polynesia's widely dispe...

Cargolux will change its operations to field a mixed fleet of large-widebody freighters when its new 777-8Fs come online later this decade to begin replacing its older production 747-400Fs.   Introducing the 777-8F platform to Cargolux’s uniform fleet of fourteen 747-8Fs and sixteen 747-400Fs will result in alterations to its operations, President and Chief Executive Richard Forson says in this we...

Awesome Cargo is on the cusp of putting its first A330-200P2F into service, joining a small group of carriers operating the type.   “We’re going to paint the aircraft — that’s going to take a couple of weeks — and then the aircraft is going straight into service as soon as we get it registered.,” Awesome Cargo founder and Chief Executive Luis Ramos says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Conne...

U.S. tariffs against other countries and the elimination of de minimis exceptions are the greatest concerns for the freight forwarder community right now, according to Airforwarders Association Executive Director Brandon Fried. “We need to freeze tariffs, not freeze trade,” Fried said at CNS Partnership Conference 2025 in Miami last week. The U.S. imposed a flat 10% tariff against all countries, e...

BBN Airlines will soon become the newest widebody-freighter operator in Turkey when it starts flying the first Mammoth Freighters 777-300ERMF conversion.   The carrier ventured into the freighter market in 2023 , shortly after it got its AOC, with an A321-200P2F (2005, ex-Red Wings) on lease from BBAM and leased another (1094, ex-Aer Lingus) toward the end of that year.   “We started with two. We...

Despite increasing restrictions on global trade and the potential effect on the market, Astral Aviation founder and Chief Executive Sanjeev Gadhia believes new opportunities will emerge in Europe, the Middle East and Africa amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.  Gadhia will join a panel discussion on the growing narrowbody freighter demand at Cargo Facts EMEA 2025 , taking place May 6-May 8 in Istan...

Astral Aviation is kicking off the next phase of its fleet expansion with the imminent arrival of its first 767-300 freighter.   With two more 767s potentially following in 2025, Astral has obtained its own aircraft maintenance organization certification and will soon conduct its own C check on its 767-200BDSF for the first time.   “In the past, we’ve always outsourced the C checks, but now we’re...

New Philippines-based carrier Skyway Airlines hopes to expand its fleet and network after stretching its wings with its first international flight earlier this month. Skyway obtained its AOC in July 2024 after leasing a 1998-vintage 737-400BDSF (29208) from AerCap . It is the first 737-400 freighter operator in the Philippines and intends to add more of the type . “It took us two and a half years...