SHORT SHOTS

HACTL gets IGOM certification
Ground handling agent Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL) has been certified under IGOM (IATA Ground Operations Manual), signifying its full compliance with the new standardized procedures. It is the first handler in Hong Kong to achieve IGOM certification.
Through IGOM, IATA is driving the adoption of a single industry ground operations manual, to replace the vast array of separate manuals and standards currently in use by airlines, ground handlers and airports around the world.
Applying IGOM scales down the complexity associated with multiple airline ground operations manuals, it standardizes training requirements and reduces the incidence of aircraft damage by applying common and robust procedures.
The newly-launched IGOM Registry lists companies which are certified as having demonstrated full compliance with the IGOM procedures.

PostNL turns down takeover bid
The Dutch national post operator PostNL has rejected a financially improved takeover bid by its Belgian competitor Bpost, after having turned down a first offer before. The new bid is less than convincing, stated Post NL last Friday, mentioning the  €2.5 bn Bpost had offered for inking the deal.
Netherland’s post operator fears that the Belgian government can exert a controlling influence on the merged company since it is Bpost’s main shareholder, owning 51 percent. Similar reactions came from the Dutch government in The Hague that also voiced strong concern, signalizing their refusal. 
PostNL came close to turning over €3.5 billion last year while competitor Bpost reported revenues amounting to €2.4 bn in 2015.

EU politicians strengthen EASA
The EU Parliament’s Transport Committee has voted in favour of more than 1,100 amendments strengthening the new “Basic Regulation” of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This will result in stronger rules for drone safety, tightened procedures for cooperative safety oversight by national aviation authorities, and a new article to mandate EASA to address the interdependencies between safety & socio-economic factors. This sets a solid basis for the upcoming negotiations on aviation safety and security with the Council of Transport Ministers and EU Commission, in early 2017, summarizes the Transport Committee. In a first reaction, President Dirk Polloczek of the European Cockpit Association stated: “With this vote, EU Parliamentarians demonstrate that they are serious about making EASA fit for the next decade.” He went on to say: “This is crucial, as our skies will become busier in future as ‘new entrants’ – like drones – are joining the airspace. We are therefore particularly satisfied with the tightened safety rules for drone operations, including the requirement of a drone pilot license for commercial operations. This is good news, as the EU Commission proposal had been an empty shell, which urgently needed filling with life. We see that the Transport Committee listened to the joint stakeholder call for drones to develop their full potential being safely integrated into the airspace, i.e. without endangering commercial aviation.

Volga-Dnepr flies big crusher to East Siberia
A jaw crusher weighing 88 tons was flown on board a Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124-100 freighter from Saint Petersburg to Sokol Airport in Russia’s Magadan province, near the Pacific Ocean. The massive machine will be used for primary ore crushing during gold mining processes in the Magadan Region, states V-D. Sergey Bayushev, Lead Executive, Key Accounts at Volga-Dnepr commented:  “We were not only able to provide a fast and secure delivery for our customer, we were also able to reduce their end-to-end transportation costs by using the freighter’s unique onboard loading systems for getting the large shipment on board.”

Meanwhile, VD's line-haul arm AirBridgeCargo (ABC) is on its way to achieve record sales in 2016, its thirteenth consequtive year in a row. From 1 January to 31 October 2016, the carrier transported almost 500,000 tons, a rise of 29 percent y-o-y. Commented Robert van de Weg, Senior VP Sales & Marketing at Volga-Dnepr Group: "Our continued strong growth is based on staying close to our customers and ensuring we support them with cargo capacity when and where they most need it." He added to this: In a challenging market environment "it is important to earn customer trust in the quality and reliability of your service and demonstrate the ability to provide responsive solutions - now increasingly for cargo categories like pharmaceuticals and off-size cargo."

An-225 landed in LEJ
The world’s largest freighter, Antonov Airlines’ An-225 landed in Leipzig/Halle Airport to load machinery parts destined to Chile. The airport stresses that it is already the 21st visit of the mammoth freighter to LEJ, making it the number one airport in Europe frequented by the An-225. In total, 160 tons were loaded on board the freighter, executed by local service provider PortGround GmbH, a subsidiary of Leipzig/Halle Airport.
With a yearly throughput of 988.000 tons (2015) LEJ has become Germany’s number two airport in cargo tonnage, next to Frankfurt.  

Short Shots compiled by Heiner Siegmund