New SA handling company names Emirates as launch customer

Emirates SkyCargo has been named as the launch customer in Johannesburg and Cape Town of Africa Flight Services (South Africa), a new joint venture partnership between cargo handling company Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) and the South African airline, SA Airlink. AFS (South Africa) has opened a 3 000-sqm cargo handling warehouse facility at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and a 2 340-sqm freight centre at Cape Town International Airport. AFS (South Africa) currently employs 64 cargo handling staff in Johannesburg and a further 42 employees in Cape Town. Malcolm Tonkin has been appointed general manager of the new joint venture company. He joins AFS from Bidvest Panalpina Logistics and previously held the post of general manager – cargo (South Africa) at Menzies Aviation. Both airport facilities have been fully refurbished and equipped with new pallet handling systems with integral weigh beds, a fleet of new forklift trucks, a pallet master and new dual view X-ray screening machines. Barry Nassberg, group chief operating officer of Worldwide Flight Services, said: “Africa Flight Services (AFS) is a new brand for our expansion plans in Africa. This is an important and growing market for us and we want to give it a dedicated focus but with the ability to draw on all the expertise and resources of the WFS global network.” AFS plans to open additional stations in South and southern Africa.