Air Cargo Operators Receive Accolades for International Excellence 21 February 2013

 21 February 2013, air cargo airlines across the globe received recognition for their excellence in the industry.

 The awards, organised by STAT TIMES, an international multimodal transport media house, were presented at a stylish gala event held at the Barnyard Theatre in Rivonia, north of Johannesburg. The South African Minister of Public Enterprises, Minister Malusi Gigaba was the keynote speaker.

 The event was part of the Air Cargo Africa 2013 Conference that is currently taking place at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg’s east rand.

 The company has been recognising and awarding excellence in the air cargo industry for the last 26 years, placing a special emphasis on excellence in performance by air cargo operators.

 The International Awards for Excellence are instituted in various sectors of the air cargo industry. The recipients of the awards are nominated and voted for by the worldwide readers of STAT TIMES via an online poll that ran from 01 January 2013 to 31 January 2013.

Congratulating the winners, Priyo Patra who is the Director of Events and Marketing from STAT TIMES, said that it is important to recognise excellence in the logistics industry chain. The winning airlines are not only applauded by the industry, but by their satisfied customers as well.

The Lifetime Achievement Award awarded for meritorious service of excellence in the air cargo industry was awarded to Mr Issa Baluch, Chairman of Africa Atlantic Holdings Limited (Dubai) and 37-year veteran of the freight forwarding industry. Award winners were awarded to the following operators:

 1.       International Freight Forwarder of the Year in Africa – DHL Global Forwarding

 2.       International Ground Handler of the Year in Africa – Swissport Cargo Services

 3.       International IT Systems Provider of the Year in Africa – Champ Cargo Systems

 4.       International Air Charter Provider of the Year in Africa – Chapman Freeborn

 5.       International General Sales Agent of the Year in Africa – Air Logistics Group

 6.       African Airport of the Year – O R Tambo International Airport

 7.       International All Cargo Carrier of the Year in Africa – Cargolux

 8.       African All Cargo Carrier of the Year – Avient

 9.       African Cargo Airline of the Year – South African Airways Cargo

 10.   International Cargo Airline of the Year in Africa – Saudi Airlines Cargo

 11.   Global Cargo Airline of the Year – Emirates Sky Cargo

 12.   STAT TIMES Lifetime Achievement Award – Issa Baluch

 Mr Tlelima Makhetha, GM SAA Air Cargo said that the event of this magnitude provides cargo operators with the opportunity to showcase their strategic role in global trade industry.

 “All the operators that are gathered here, contributing at the strategic air cargo industry discussions, indicate strong commitment to the growth of the industry in Africa. These awards further reinforce the commitment by operators to excel and continue to provide world class freight forwarding services”, he added.

 About Air Cargo Africa 2013:

 AIR CARGO AFRICA 2013 took place from 20-22 February 2013 at Emperors Palace, Central Court Casino Convention in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg. The event had South African Airways as its ‘Diamond Sponsor’, Swissport Cargo Services and Africa Flight Services as ‘Platinum Sponsors’, as well as Airports Company South Africa, Dube TradePort and Liege Airport as ‘Gold Sponsors’. Etihad Cargo and Miami Airport supported as Silver Sponsors.

 There was a total of 77 prominent exhibitors which included Cologne Bonn Airport with Sponsorship Scheme and South African Airlines Cargo, DHL, Africa Flight Services, ARAMEX, Vulkan Air, Qatar Airways Cargo, Delta Cargo, Saudi Airlines Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo, Brussels Airport, Maximus Air, LuxAir CARGO, Air Logistics Group, Air Menzies International, Lynden Air Cargo, CARGOLUX, Astra Aviation, TURKISH CARGO, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Air Logistics Group, Siginon Aviation, Swissport, Chateauroux Airport, BidAir Cargo, Kenya Airways Cargo, Air Mauritius Cargo, CFR Freight, Astral Aviation, OR Tambo International Airport, Airline Services International, Global Aviation Holdings- World Airways, Ruslan International, Procet Freight, RUS Aviation, Coyne Airways, Chapman Freeborn, Network Airline Services, Amerijet International Airline, Manston Airport, MH Aviation Services, Hannover Airport, MK Freight Systems, Airports Company South Africa, Air Atlanta Icelandic, Imperial Green Mobility, Intex Express international, IAG Cargo, Air Charter Service, Air Direct Connect, Stuttgart Airport, Kungorock Express, HISSCO, IDV Systems, TLD Europe, Hermes Logistics Technologies, Hans Infomatic, Airline Cargo Resources, ATC Aviation Services, Lufthansa Cargo, Compu-Clearing, SACO Airport Equipment, Colson Europe, Airlink Cargo, Safair Operations, Boeing, ICM Airport Technics, Liege Airport, Avient Airlines, National Air Cargo, Globelink China Logistics, South African Association of Freight Forwarders and International Air Transport Association (IATA). The event is also supported by its global media partners Air Cargo Week, Air Cargo News, Air Cargo Update, Cargo News Asia, Air Cargo World, Payload Asia and Logistics Update Africa.

 About the Organisers: 

STAT TIMES is an international multi-modal transport trade media, specializing in Air Cargo. STAT TIMES enjoys a worldwide circulation of more than 42 000 amongst the high-profile leaders of the Transport & Logistics industry.

 It has been engaged in the dissemination of information in the field of the Air Cargo industry since its inception in 1986. STAT TIMES has been organizing the biennial international event AIR CARGO INDIA since 2006 in Mumbai, which has been hugely successful. It is now venturing into the land of opportunities, the African continent.

 About SAA Cargo:

 South African Airways Cargo (SAA Cargo) is the division of South African Airways focusing on air freight movement worldwide.

 South African Airways (SAA) Cargo makes use of the belly space of SAA’s passenger flights for cargo carriage and also operates a fleet of cargo aircraft. 

 SAA Cargo markets include domestic, intra Africa and intercontinental air freight services.  The domestic market comprises services to major centres such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban and East London. This includes smaller centres such as Richards Bay, George, Kimberly and Bloemfontein through partner carriers.

 Intra Africa, SAA Cargo operates an extensive network through the passenger fleet and freighter aircraft.   Our regional service covers many countries on the continent.  Destinations in Africa include Lagos, Accra, Blantyre, Lusaka, Entebbe, Kinshasa, Port Louis, Harare, Luanda, Maputo, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Windhoek, Walvis Bay and many others.

 The intercontinental market includes Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. SAA Cargo is represented in 12 countries in Asia-Pacific with direct passenger flights to Mumbai, Hong Kong, Beijing and Perth. The rest of the region is serviced through interline agreements with other carriers. In Europe, specific markets serviced include Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Eastern Europe and Nordic countries, while South American markets include Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and North American markets include both the United States and Canada.

 For SAA Cargo no shipment is too large or too small as shipment types include general cargo, perishables, courier, express and mail across the globe. SAA Cargo specialises in the movement of livestock, human remains, dangerous goods, vulnerable, and valuable cargo. SAA Cargo also offers the most reliable charter service on the African continent with the flexibility of delivering the product within the shortest possible time.



Minister Malusi Gigaba (South African Minister of Public Enterprises),
R.K. Patra (Group Editor-in-Chief of STAT Media Group),
Ram Menen (Divisional Senior Vice President of Emirates SkyCargo)

 

For more information contact:

Namrata More
Special Correspondent

STAT Media Group

Tel: +91 22 2757 0550/ 27 575055