Columbia Metropolitan Airport wants to play a larger role in the air cargo industry and serve as a less congested alternative to airports including Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International and Charlotte Douglas International.

The South Carolina Department of Commerce awarded Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) a $5 million grant in 2024 to acquire new ground service equipment and renovate its west cargo building to support additional warehousing and air cargo operations.

Apart from FedEx and UPS, there really are no other cargo-handling capabilities at CAE, Ryan Kreulen, vice president of operations at the airport, says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

Air cargo flights accounted for 14% of CAE’s total traffic in 2025, with most of the 40,000 tonnes of air freight moving through the airport being handled by FedEx and UPS.

In addition to having customs on site at the airport, CAE provides an escape from the congestion found in larger markets and the experience of working with large freighter operators, Chief Executive Chris White says in the podcast.

Tune into this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear White and Kreulen discuss with Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke how they plan to attract more cargo operators to the capital of South Carolina.

EnComm Aviation’s regional freighter operations came to an abrupt halt in September 2025, causing the carrier to write off more than $100 million after BAE Systems surrendered its ATP aircraft type certificate to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority.

EnComm had made multiple investments building its infrastructure, including heavy maintenance repairs for its ATP fleet, when it learned of BAE’s decision to discontinue its support, making it nearly impossible for the carrier to continue operating the type, EnComm Aviation Director Jackton Obuola says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

“There were a lot of investments we were still making,” Obuola says. “For instance, we were in the process of overhauling landing gears, overhauling engines, returning to service a lot of aircraft, spending up to $15 million.”

EnComm has filed a lawsuit in London seeking $250 million in punitive damages and claiming negligent misrepresentation and misstatement by BAE.

The Kenyan startup was surprised by the decision after meeting with BAE and receiving commitments for continued support for its ATP fleet, Obuola says.

EnComm was operating four ATP freighters and was preparing to enter service with the remaining nine ATP aircraft it had acquired from Sweden-based West Atlantic.

BAE invited EnComm to the United Kingdom for a meeting when the startup reached out to the manufacturer in May 2024, Obuola says. Parts and suppliers for the ATP aircraft type were in attendance, including parts distributor Saywell International, component supplier Safra[MM3] n and propeller supplier PropTech.

“Our BAE representative at the time said as long as there’s one BAE ATP aircraft in service, they will continue supporting it,” Obuola says.

Even though EnComm has ceased operations, its legal pursuit of BAE is just beginning. Tune into this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear Obuola discuss with Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke the events that grounded the regional carrier and the next steps it will take.

Airlines lose control when they outsource heavy maintenance, and that could be the root cause of the fatal crash of UPS flight 2976, according to a former FAA airworthiness inspector and NTSB major accident investigator.

UPS’ CF6-powered, 1991-vintage MD-11F (48417) failed to maintain its climb and crashed after its left engine separated from the wing during takeoff from Louisville, Ky. (SDF).

MROs under microscope

The FAA and NTSB should look closely at the maintenance checks carriers have outsourced to third-party MROs, Stephen Carbone, president of private maintenance consultant firm Aircraft Maintenance Safety Professionals, says.

A former FAA airworthiness inspector and NTSB major accident investigator, Carbone says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect” that he believes there is not enough oversight from the FAA or quality control from airlines that outsource aircraft maintenance.

“Since the early ’90s, the airlines have relied a lot more on repair station overhaul facilities to do their work,” Carbone says. “And the problem with that is the airline loses control of the maintenance.”

Tragic similarities

In addition, the November crash had tragic similarities to a 1979 crash of an American Airlines DC-10 at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) that killed all 271 people.

“The basic problem that caused the American Airlines DC-10 crash was the departure of the engine, almost exactly like the UPS MD-11F,” Steve Forness, president of aircraft engineering consultancy Air Flight Technical, says in the podcast. “It went up over the wing. The failure was the aft pylon.”

As a member of the McDonnell-Douglas team assigned to the American Airlines DC-10 crash and an FAA designated engineering representative, Forness aided the NTSB investigation, which identified improper installation of the engines as the cause of the aft bulkhead failure in the pylon.

Although the lessons learned from the DC-10 were implemented into the design and operation of MD-11s, the NTSB revealed in its Nov. 20 preliminary report of the UPS crash that it had discovered fatigue cracks in the pylon aft mount of the left engine.

As the NTSB investigation into UPS flight 2976 continues and around sixty MD-11Fs remain grounded, tune into this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear Carbone and Forness share their insights with Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke on the accident and what could happen before the MD-11Fs return to service.

A new A300 freighter operator is entering the market next year.

Chex Air, which has offices in Dubai and Miami, expects to begin flying an A300-600F around March 2026 to connect Africa and the Middle East with South America, Head of Operations Sebastian Bolivar says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at the Dubai Airshow 2025.

The aircraft will be on lease from United Arab Emirates-based Sky One and operate under Chex Air’s Chilean AOC, Bolivar says.

“If this goes well, we’re going to incorporate a 747 into our fleet,” he says.

There are no A300s or 747s registered in Chile. The most recent South American A300 freighter operator was Venezuela-based Transcarga, which retired its final unit in 2024.

Chex Air plans to bring more jets from the United States and South America to Dubai and the Middle East to cater to strong demand for charter flights, Bolivar says.

“I think our vision for the next five years is to really have a fleet of 747-400Fs [flying] from South America to Dubai and all the way back,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity.”

In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear more about Chex Air’s strategy as Bolivar speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee in Dubai.

With the thirty-first annual Cargo Facts Symposium less than a week away, Cargo Facts checked in with four event speakers to discuss some key industry developments that attendees will hear about at the event.

A highlight will be a panel discussion on the various 777 conversions, Anna Kopinski, director of asset valuations at mba Aviation, says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

“I’m actually really excited to discuss [the 777] because we’ve been monitoring this aircraft and these converted 777s, only one is coming into service and we’re still waiting on the -200LR, but I think it’s a very interesting space that people are keeping an eye on,” she says.

Mammoth began certification flights with its 777-200LRMF prototype with the FAA in September.

“We’re still looking forward to getting the STC in 2025,” Mammoth Chief Executive Bill Tarpley says on “Cargo Facts Connect.” “That’ll allow us to finish up and deliver at least six of the seven airplanes we have in work.”

Meanwhile, in the narrowbody segment, 2025 continued to be slow, but 2026 may see a slight pickup in activity.

As a lessor supporting some of the smaller carriers in the industry, Hamden Aviation had to become more flexible with its narrowbody freighter customers this year, Executive Vice President Dora Alexander tells Cargo Facts.“I think we’re seeing a lot shorter planning times from a leasing perspective,” she says. “It certainly has provided us with an extra level of challenge trying to meet the needs of our lessees, whether it’s on a question of swapping out engines or expanding their fleet needs.”

The high demand for narrowbody engines in the passenger sector this year has not only proven to be a challenge for lessors but for conversion companies as well.

AEI hopes to complete six to ten 737-800SF conversions in 2026. That number will depend solely on the availability of CFM56-7B engines, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Bob Convey says.

“If the demand is there for hopefully six to ten conversions, customers have got to, in most cases, find and acquire feedstock on the spot,” he says. “And again, if the engines are just too expensive, that’s going to be very difficult to do.”

AEI will also unveil its next conversion program at Cargo Facts Symposium 2025.

Hear a preview of the discussions to come at the event as Kopinski, Tarpley, Alexander and Convey speak with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee and Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke in this episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

Aircraft cybersecurity is a vital — but often overlooked — part of protecting commercial aviation from bad actors, which is why Cyviation specializes in aircraft risk assessments and solutions.

Herzliya, Israel-based Cyviation, founded in 2021, offers intelligence and monitoring solutions to map possible cyber threats to aircraft and related aviation systems.

Cyviation determines vulnerabilities and monitors multiple platforms and devices, especially those used for communication, to protect commercial aircraft from cyberattacks, according to the company. Cyviation does this through digital twin technology.

Digital twin technology creates a virtual replica of a system that collects and analyzes data in real-time, allowing users to pinpoint weaknesses and predict problems.

“The way we are building [these digital twins] is basically from analyzing data only,” Cyviation Chief Executive Eliran Almog says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

Cyviation does not touch the plane, either physically or through software, Almog says.

“We just look at the data — the data of the airplane, the model data and the data [from] maintenance, the specific data of a specific tail number,” he says. “From this data, we basically map the entire network [of] devices, and the connections and communication between the devices, and start to assess, through that digital twin, the vulnerabilities.”

In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear about using digital twin technology for commercial aviation cybersecurity as Cyviation’s Almog speaks with Cargo Facts Deputy Editor Yael Katzwer.

Airfreight technology provider CargoAi is using advanced AI software to automate quoting, tracking, emailing and payments.

The company this week launched a unified AI agent to integrate multiple AI functions and tools into a single autonomous software solution.

“The next stage of this AI revolution is the AI agent,” CargoAi founder and Chief Executive Matt Petot says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” in a discussion on the tool’s development.

CargoCoPilot Agent can automate responses to up to 50% of the emails received by airlines and freight forwarders, according to the company. The multilingual agent can also operate across WhatsApp, partner platforms and CargoAi’s CargoMart platform.

The agent, CargoAi said, can:

• Track air waybills with real-time updates;
• Perform rate and capacity searches using plain language, such as “300 kg SIN to JFK next Tue”;
• Auto-book directly in airline systems; and
• Provide answers to questions relating to ground handling, surcharges, contacts and other frequently asked questions.

CargoCoPilot will enable users to increase productivity as if they had far more employees, Petot said.

“In terms of coding, we have twenty developers in our team,” he said. “We had twenty developers last year, but now every developer is using AI agents, and the output of our developers is much more than before. It's forecasted to double at the end of the year, and that's really exactly the same that I think we can do with airlines.”

In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear about the air cargo industry’s growing embrace of AI and new technologies being launched as CargoAi’s Petot speaks with Cargo Facts Deputy Editor Yael Katzwer.

Miami-based startup carrier 7Air Cargo is entering its third month of full commercial operations and gaining experience that is benefiting its parent, The Xtreme Group.

7Air Cargo, formed by The Xtreme Group (TXG), received FAA Part 121 approval in February and began air cargo service in May. It now operates two 737-800SFs and one 737-800BCF, and expects to put a fourth 737-800 freighter into service by yearend.

7Air held an inauguration ceremony with the Miami-Dade Aviation Department in Miami (MIA) on Aug. 15 to commemorate the opening of the airline’s hub at the airport.

For the executive team overseeing 7Air’s daily operations, the ceremony represented a milestone noting its achievements and serving as a reminder of the challenges still to come.

“It’s definitely been a learning curve getting into the airline and cargo industry, since we’re kind of running them side by side,” Chairman and Managing Partner Jose Rodriguez says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

“The good thing is that we’ve been able to tackle the different objectives through me and [Vice President of Commercial Operations and Partner Carlos Cock]. Most days, we divide our attention,” Rodriguez says. “I’ll handle the maintenance side of things, and Carlos will manage operations to make sure that we have fluidity and efficiency across the board.”

As executives with years of MRO experience, 7Air’s leadership team is familiar with managing aircraft maintenance for customers, Cock says.

But the tables have turned.

“Now, we are the customer,” he says. “Xtreme Aviation is handling a majority of the maintenance for 7Air and it’s allowed us to really see how important the operational side of things is, making sure that communication is not only key but fluid, and that everybody’s on the same page regarding what we’re doing, enabling us to make changes on the MRO side to better serve our customers.”

In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear about the day-to-day operations, challenges and early stage growth of this new carrier as 7Air’s leaders speak with Cargo Facts Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke.