Members and associates of the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) reported over 3,800 cargo crimes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in 2009, costing manufacturers and logistics service providers losses of €120 million. In response to this, TAPA organised a special 24-hour conference to address the subject of ‘Freight Security in Practice’ in which over 200 security and transport specialists met to discuss increasing their joint efforts to combat … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: TAPA organises conference to address cargo crime

Lufthansa Cargo saw its freight traffic grow by 13.8 per cent in April from a its Frankfurt hub. The near halving of the growth rate from the 26.4 percent year-on-year increase in March partly reflected the closure of north European airspace when a cloud of ash from an erupting Icelandic volcano drifted across the continent. The German carrier handled 129,000 tonnes of cargo compared with 113,000 tonnes in April 2009, taking volume for the first four months to 520,000 tonnes compared to … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Lufthansa Cargo boosts volume 13.8%

Martinair Cargo returned to San Jose, Costa Rica effective 7 May after temporarily suspending service since November 2008. On-going analysis and refinement of the network revealed an opportunity to once again be established in Central America’s most vibrant market Costa Rica, said the carrier. The flight will be operated by Martinair’s MD-11 freighter aircraft routed from AMS via MIA to SJO then to Latin America and back to Europe. Initially Martinair plans to operate … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Martinair returns to Costa Rica

The Air France-KLM group reported this week its biggest loss since the merger of the two carriers in 2004 with a loss of of €1.56 billion for the full-year ended 31 March, up from a loss of €814 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 15 per cent year-on-year to €21 billion. The group’s finances were starting to improve at the end of 2009 on signs of an upswing in traffic, but earnings have been pulled down since April due to the impact of ash clouds from an … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: AF-KLM sinks deeper into red

Europe’s largest all-cargo airline, Cargolux Airlines International has announced the introduction of a third weekly frequency to Komatsu, Japan starting on 13 May 2010. Cargolux said it was putting the additional capacity on the route due to “growing customer demand and limited freighter services to Japan.” The Cargolux B747-400 freighters to Komatsu are carrying mostly cars, machinery, spare parts as well as cheese and chocolates, while from Japan the cargo comprises … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Cargolux boosts Japanese and Korean services