Iskenderun port fire under control, but earthquake death toll rises
Latest reports from Iskenderun Port in Turkey suggest that the fire following Monday’s earthquake, has ...
The tragic story of the Fokker 50 crash in Nairobi last week, in which four people died, has shone a light on one of the odder African trades.
Qat or khat, the African plant chewed for its side-effects, and illegal in many countries, is a well-traded commodity and is often flown into Somalia – as it was on this occasion. Pilots report that khat flights tend to be severely overloaded, with pilots being “walled” in.
One wrote on a forum: “Khat flights are notorious for being grossly overloaded. They know from experience how much the aircraft will lift so not infrequently it barely scrapes the fence and relies on ground effect. They all go out in a rush first thing to get to Somalia first for best prices, so it’s sometimes foggy too. Any safety culture is all but non-existent.”
Khat flying is also urgent as it has a short lifespan and gets stale quickly – the perfect air freighted commodity – and it is big business, which has been known to fund terrorism.
'I'm scared', says Boeing whistleblower, after two others suffer mysterious deaths
DSV could face $16m bill after helicopter is written off in haulage accident
FAK rate hikes holding, with strong demand into peak season predicted
Déjà vu as major ocean carriers scramble for tonnage and containers
Indian trade disrupted as port congestion forces liner services to skip calls
Ecommerce boom may be opening the doors for smugglers
Don't get too confident for Q2, market risks haven't disappeared, warns Yang Ming chief
Shipper frustration as spot rates rise alongside demand, and cargo is rolled
Don't chase that final dollar, warning to shippers delaying signing new contracts
Airfreight contracts begin to reflect threat of a Q4 capacity crunch
Q1 'better than expected' for Maersk – but 'there's more pressure to come'
Comment on this article