UK fund manager Scottish Widows Investment Partnership's Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust (AIPUT), a specialist owner and manager of airport-related and industrial warehouses, is launching a logistics unit at its Air Cargo Centre.
Growth of the middle class in China and other emerging economies will contribute to the future of air cargo, said Des Vertannes, the global head of cargo at the International Air Transport Association.
The Air France-KLM group (AF-KL) has pledged to remain in the maindeck cargo business, despite further reductions in its freighter complement. In a media briefing at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, Erik Varwijk, executive vice president of Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo, said that over the next two years, the group will shed four of its current 14 freighters.
There was a continued modest improvement in air cargo markets in August, according to the International Air Transport Association. August airfreight demand was up 3.6 percent year over year, which is considerably better than the year-to-date performance of a 0.7-percent expansion.
A note of caution was sounded recently after some intensive discussions between the EU Commission and various bodies who are stakeholders with regard to air cargo security.