Sats, Sinoair to collaborate on strategic projects in ground, cargo handling

SATS will work with Chinese logistics company Sinotrans Air Freight (Sinoair) on ground and cargo-handling services across their respective networks, said the ground handler and in-flight caterer on Friday (Sep 20). 

The two companies are also in talks for Sats to manage Sinoair’s new Hangzhou e-commerce hub, slated to be ready in 2026. 

The collaboration was inked on Sep 10 in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Bob Chi, chief executive of Sats’ division Gateway Services, and Liu Yong, managing director of Sinoair. The collaboration will extend across their respective networks and include setting up gateway hubs for Sinoair in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Belgium.

Sinoair has regular charters operating between China and Belgium’s Liege Airport, as well as the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai International Airport. 

Sats and Worldwide Flight Services, which it acquired in 2023, together operate a combined network spanning the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific. 

Its network’s global footprint includes more than 215 cargo and ground-handling stations in 27 countries, and covers trade routes responsible for more than half the global air cargo volume.