Liège Airport has shown outstanding results in 2024, handling almost 1.2 million tonnes of cargo. This is 16% more than in 2023, when the volume was just over 1 million tonnes. The number of air operations also increased: 37,029 flights compared to 33,652 the previous year. Most of the traffic was carried out by cargo aircraft.
Latvian airline airBaltic has announced the cancellation of 4,670 flights in the 2025 summer season. The reasons for the cancellations are delays and prolonged maintenance of Airbus A220-300 aircraft engines by supplier Pratt & Whitney. Due to this, several aircraft will remain grounded, forcing the airline to adjust its schedule, including canceling 19 routes and reducing flight frequencies.
The first cargo flight from Urumqi, China, to Istanbul was completed on Thursday. The plane carrying 55 tons of cargo took off from Diwopu International Airport, and the flight time between the cities was about seven hours. According to the customs service, flights on this route will be operated four times a week.
Chinese company Jingdong Logistics has opened a new air route between Shenzhen and Bangkok. The first flight took place on January 3 and was operated by JD Airlines. The plane delivered a full load of goods for cross-border e-commerce to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The Italian Ministry of Enterprise and Production has approved the sale of the renowned aviation company Piaggio Aerospace to the Turkish manufacturer Baykar. Founded in 1884, Piaggio Aerospace is known as the “Ferrari of the sky” thanks to its P.180 Avanti business jets and aircraft engines.
On December 25, the opening of a new airport terminal took place in Shymkent. In the initial period, the terminal will serve daytime domestic flights of SCAT Airlines, and in the near future it is planned to transfer flights of Air Astana and Fly Arystan Airlines.
German company Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), which specializes in the conversion of Airbus passenger aircraft into freighters, celebrated an important milestone: the completion of the 100th freighter conversion in its history. The jubilee aircraft, an Airbus A330P2F, was delivered to a customer in Asia, just like the first aircraft of this model in 2017. Over the seven years of work, the joint project of EFW, Airbus and ST Engineering has added 49 Airbus A330P2F, 47 A321P2F and 4 A320P2F to the global freighter fleet.
South Korea’s national carrier Korean Air has completed its acquisition of rival privately held Asiana Airlines, which will now be a subsidiary of Korean Air. The US$1.05 billion deal includes a 63.88% stake in Asiana. Full integration of the two companies, including the unification of their route networks and loyalty programs, will take about two years.
Dublin-based Avia Solutions Group (ASG), the world’s largest ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) services provider, has announced the opening of its first Global Services Centre in Manila, Philippines. Scheduled to open in January 2025, the centre will support the technical and flight operations of the group’s airlines, as well as MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) activities. In addition, the centre will house corporate functions including IT, finance, payroll and administration.
International logistics provider Rhenus has joined Air France KLM Martinair Cargo’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) program, taking a step towards reducing its carbon footprint in aviation. The initiative aims to support sustainable solutions in air transport and offers Rhenus customers the opportunity to reduce their emissions.
