◆On 10 April 2020, an all-cargo Boeing 777 airfreighted 5,333 m3 of medical equipment from China.
CARRYING MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AT THE HEIGHT OF THE CRISIS
In addition to ferry flights, all-cargo flights also played an important role in pushing back against the Covid-19 pandemic. Many flights were chartered during the first lockdown in April and May to import face masks and crucial medical equipment, such as respirators.
On 29 March 2020, the first of these flights bringing medical equipment from China landed at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. A few days later, on 10 April, a Qatar Airways all-cargo Boeing 777 chartered by Bolloré Logistics, landed from China with a hold packed with 5,333 m3 of medical equipment.
Between mid-April and the end of June, there were between 6 and 8 rotations per week between France, China, Vietnam and Tunisia carrying the FFP2 surgical masks ordered by the French government and a number of leading French companies. This impressive response from the Cargo community made it possible to maintain territorial continuity between mainland France and overseas France, thanks particularly to all-cargo flights to Guadeloupe and
La Réunion.
In autumn 2020, the teams prepared to take on a new logistics challenge ahead of the green light from French authorities for the delivery of vaccines then still in development.
◆Paris Cargo City attracts airfreight industry leaders
The appeal of Cargo City to the world’s big names in logistics and freight is clear. At the beginning of 2021, the new SC4 (Cargo Station 4) facility developed by the teams of the Groupe ADP Real Estate Department, was handed over to DSV Air & Sea and Groupe Europe Handling (GEH).
In autumn 2020, DHL Express announced its investment of €170 million to expand its hub on the Roissy platform. Following the go-live of its new 47,000 m² automated parcel sorting facility in 2020, FedEx has now begun construction work on a new 4,500 m2 Heavyweight Cargo building.
◆Liège: a super-dynamic 100% cargo airport
The Belgian airport of Liège is a member of the Groupe ADP network and entirely dedicated to cargo. In 2020, it saw a 24% increase in tonnages, with 1.1 million tons handled during the year. It is also home to the European hub of the Chinese trading giant Alibaba, and benefited from the super-dynamic increase in e-commerce, as well as handling a very large quantity of medical equipment, including face masks, respirators and personal protection kits.