Emirates SkyCargo marked a year since it started transporting cargo in the cabins of its planes.
In the past 12 months, more than 3,100 flights were used to carry more than 11,000 tonnes of goods, filling the equivalent of 800,000 aircraft seats.
The demand for vital cargo to be transported around the world in 2020 came to a crunch point when countries closed their borders and airlines stopped passenger flights.
Normally the hold of each passenger aircraft carries travellers’ luggage alongside commercial cargo.
As international travel ceased, the demand for vital kit such as personal protective equipment and other medical supplies became urgent, particularly during the first wave of the pandemic.
European countries including Italy and the UK ran short of PPE in April 2020.
Emirates SkyCargo quickly responded to the demand, and the freight division adjusted its operating model to load selected goods in the cabins of its Boeing 777-300ER planes.
In 10 aircraft, all the seats were removed from economy class.
In the others, once the hold was full, cargo was loaded on to seats and in overhead bins.
Emirates SkyCargo had to rapidly develop a set of procedures to ensure the operation was efficient, safe and secure.
It developed coverings to protect passenger seats and interiors, and a smart calculator application to help global teams work out the optimal loading capacity.
PPE and medical equipment can be transported in smaller boxes than many other items, meaning it is comparatively easy to handle in a confined space such as a plane cabin.
Other general cargo including garments and clothing, dry food, dental supplies and sporting goods were also transported on seats.
One year on, Emirates SkyCargo says there is significant demand for the in-cabin service among its connections, which include more than 135 cities.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
