AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has added Beluga whales to its growing list of successful live animal shipments. The airline carried two of the animals, weighing a combined 5.5 tonnes from Moscow to Beijing on board one of its six times weekly Boeing 747-400 freighterservices between the two cities. The whale, which is sometimes called sea canary due to its high-pitched twitter, can grow up to 16 feet in length. Handling of the special water filled transport container was managed by Moscow … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: It’s ABC for a pair of Beluga whales

In one of the stranger side-effects of the Icelandic volcano’s eruption, the world’s largest freighter – the Antonov An-225 – has performed its first charter from China, carrying a full load of general cargo. The aircraft - owned by Antonov Airlines and normally associated only with the very largest and heaviest outsize loads – transported the cargo from Shijiazhuang Airport (SJW) near Beijing to Vitoria (VIT), Spain on behalf of a major, … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: An-225 helps clear volcano backlog

Cargolux reported a 2009 net loss of US$153 million, nearly triple its $61 million deficit in 2008, with revenue dropping 34 per cent to $1.3 billion as the global air cargo market contracted severely. “2009 was arguably the most difficult year in the history of airfreight,” Europe’s largest all-cargo airline said in a statement. “The industry registered a decline in freight volume of well over 20 per cent during the year compared to 2008,” which led to … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Cargolux reports dire 2009 results

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said its new information web portal www. ethicalcargo.org, would “prevent arms and drug traffickers from accessing significant humanitarian aid and peacekeeping funds.” Some 90 per cent of the air cargo carriers identified in arms-trafficking have also been used for humanitarian aid and peacekeeping operations by the United Nations, EU member states, NGOs and NATO, according to a report published last year by SIPRI. … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Swedish think tank wants to clean up relief

Europe’s largest all-cargo carrier, has begun operating a twice weekly trans-Pacific service from mid-April, a milestone in the company’s history. The flights, utilising B747 freighters fly Luxembourg-Baku-Hong Kong-Chicago- New York JFK-Luxembourg. The second trans-Pacific service flies the route Luxembourg-Beirut-Amman-Hong Kong-Chicago-New York-Luxembourg. Europe’s largest all-cargo airline operates a fleet of 14 B747-400 freighters with one additional … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Cargolux goes trans-Pac twice weekly

An European Union agency says road and air freight within the bloc have increased noticeably since 1997 while the proportion of goods transported by rail is declining. The European Environment Agency says road and air freight transportation increased by 43 per cent and 35 per cent respectively in the ten-year period between 1997-2007, despite growing concern about the environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions. During the same period, transportation via rail and inland waterways increased … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Road, air freight up over decade in EU