LORD OF LOGISTICS
At the “International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo” ceremony, the event organized by Messe Muenchen India in Mumbai on Feb 2024 at the Jio Convention Centre, Cyrus Guzder—the man who led the charge to provide international air express services in India—was given The STAT Trade Times Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024, for his contribution to the Indian air cargo industry.
The winner was declared by R K Patra, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, STAT Media Group, following a story he told about how, barely two years after founding The STAT Trade Times, he had an incident in the late 1980s.
The prize was given out by R.K. Patra, Group Editor-in-Chief of STAT Media Group, and Robert Schönberger, Head of Transport Logistics, Air Cargo, and Ceramitec Exhibitions, Messe Munchen.
The logistics industry star Cyrus Guzder who received the lifetime achievement award, made a emotional remarkable speech aout hisstart to current status.
He spoke about how he got started in the air cargo business in 1968, when he joined Airfreight Limited, his father’s business. At the time, the corporation delivered newspapers, chicks, and ice cream as part of its extensive domestic operation in India. Meeting a guy from the United States in 1977 who persuaded him to represent DHL in India was one of the most important moments of his career. This was the start of an extremely fruitful collaboration.
“I thank The STAT Trade Times and Mr Patra for the great honour they have done me, in bestowing this Lifetime Achievement Award upon me, all the more so, as several years have elapsed since I was active in the fields of air cargo, express and logistics.”
Guzder listed a few of the difficulties faced by the air freight business in its early years, such as inadequate infrastructure and security lapses. He also goes over some of the innovations that DHL brought to India, such door-to-door delivery throughout the nation and next-day document delivery for the banking sector.
Guzder mused on how much the industry has evolved as he wrapped off his remarks. In the 1970s and 1980s, many of the things we took for granted now—like online reservations and round-the-clock customer service—were not even considered. He thanks his DHL coworkers and the award committee for their contributions to his accomplishment.
Before switching to AFL Private Limited, then known as Airfreight Limited, in 1969, Guzder started his career in 1967 with ICICI. He has served as the organization’s managing director and chairman since 1985. He oversaw the DHL Worldwide Express operations in India for 25 years, until 2001, when AFL owned the whole business sector.
Turkish Cargo won the “International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo” for “Innovative International Cargo Airline of the Year”. With its SMARTIST facility, Turkish Cargo has also been recognised as the most prestigious air cargo brand in the “Innovative Logistics Solutions in Air Cargo” category.
Expressing his opinions on the awards, Ali Turk, the Chief Cargo Officer of Turkish Airlines, said; “We are glad to have been announced as an innovative air cargo brand once again in the international arena. I hereby express thanks to our colleagues who have contributed to such achievement. Being able to remain competitive in the developing and digitalized world starts with understanding and meeting the requirements of the staff members and business partners. We, as Turkish Cargo, regard our investments in infrastructure and technology as a holistic development cycle spreading to all processes from our human resources policies to our sales channels. Such strategy of us enables a dynamic organizational structure based on a young and skilled staff. Thus, our teamwork and business culture progress in harmony with the digital transformation processes.”
At the STAT Times International Awards for Excellence in Air Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo won the title of International Airline of the Year. This esteemed award, which was chosen by STAT Times’ global readership, is evidence of the airline’s dedication to meeting the dynamic supply chain demands of the global community.
On the fringes of Air Cargo India 2024 in Mumbai, the Emirates SkyCargo team, lead by Divisional Senior Vice President Nabil Sultan, won the prize. Other prominent dignitaries and industry leaders from the air freight and logistics sectors also attended the occasion.
Commenting on the win, Sultan said: “We are honoured to be recognized as the leading cargo airline by the premier industry publication and our customers around the world. This accolade reflects our commitment to make the world work better through continual innovation and development in our operations, and also the talent in our Emirates SkyCargo team who are instrumental in our ongoing success. We will keep raising the bar, to ensure Emirates SkyCargo remains a first-class partner for our global customers.”
For almost forty years, the world’s largest airline has operated its cargo division, Emirates SkyCargo, successfully facilitating international trade. The airline links people and companies to the things they need with an industry-leading portfolio of purpose-fit products and cutting-edge infrastructure from its dual-airport base in Dubai, serving over 140 destinations across six continents.
On winning the Air Cargo Woman Leader of the Year Award, Elisabeth Oudkerk, Senior VP, Cargo Sales and Network Planning, Qatar Airways, said, “This is a great opportunity to demonstrate women’s contributions to the transport and logistics industry. We are delighted to participate in this forum and join all our partners to ideate on the future of air cargo logistics. The experience at this edition has been worthwhile as we continue to build on our relationships in the Indian market.”
Saudia Cargo won the Air Cargo Marketing Award. The recognition is a testament to Saudia Cargo’s dedication to innovation and operational excellence in supporting international partners. Saudia Cargo’s Executive Director of Marketing, Ayman Osilan, acknowledged the company’s engaging and thought-provoking campaigns with the prize and expressed gratitude for it.
“Renowned for our impeccable reputation and customer-focused approach, Saudia Cargo remains at the forefront of innovation. Through heartfelt and human-centric campaigns around e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, to flying horses and transporting flowers, and humanitarian aid we have forged stronger connections with our customers than ever before. Our focus on reading trends and anticipating the future needs of customers drives us to build marketing infrastructure and engage with their experience proactively. We are committed to continuously evolving to meet the evolving needs of our valued customers through continuous communication, listening, and understanding,” he added.
STAT Times International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo winners –
Award Categories | Recipients | |
| Fastest Growing GSSA- Region India | Winner | Rainbow Aviation |
| Highly Acclaimed | Zeal Global | |
| International Cargo GSSA of the Year—Region India | Winner | Group Concorde |
| Highly Acclaimed | Air Logistics Group | |
| Cargo Ground Handler of the Year—Region India | Winner | Cargo Service Center |
| Highly Acclaimed | Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal | |
| International Freight Forwarder of the Year – Region India | Winner | Skyways |
| Highly Acclaimed | S.A. Consultants & Forwarders Pvt. Ltd. (SACFPL) | |
| Cargo Airline of the Year—Region India | Winner | Air India Cargo |
| Highly Acclaimed | IndiGo CarGo | |
| Innovative Airport of the Year—Region India | Winner | Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru |
| Highly Acclaimed | GMR HYD Air Cargo (GHAC) | |
| Cargo Airport of the Year – India | Winner | CSMIA – Adani Airport |
| Highly Acclaimed | Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi Airport) | |
| International GSSA of the year | Winner | ECS Group |
| Highly Acclaimed | ATC Aviation | |
| International Cargo handler of the year | Winner | Worldwide Flight Services (WFS)/SATS |
| Highly Acclaimed | Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) | |
| International Freight Forwarder of the Year | Winner | DSV |
| Highly Acclaimed | Maersk | |
| International IT Systems provider of the year | Winner | IBS Software |
| Highly Acclaimed | Unisys | |
| International Air Cargo Charter Broker of the Year | Winner | Chapman Freeborn |
| Highly Acclaimed | Air Charter Service | |
| Innovative Logistics Solutions in Air Cargo | Winner | Turkish Cargo – SmartIST |
| Highly Acclaimed | Swissport | |
| Air Cargo Marketing Awards | Winner | Cargo.one |
| Highly Acclaimed | Saudia Cargo | |
| International Cargo Airport of the Year | Winner | Changi Airport Group |
| Highly Acclaimed | Miami International Airport | |
| Innovative International Cargo Airline of the Year | Winner | Etihad Cargo |
| Highly Acclaimed | Turkish Cargo | |
| Air Cargo Sustainability Leader of the Year | Winner | Cathay Cargo |
| Highly Acclaimed | va-Q-tec | |
| Air Cargo Woman Leader of the Year | Winner | Elisabeth Oudkerk, Qatar Airways |
| Winner | Jacqueline Han Lin Ni, Etihad Cargo | |
| International Cargo Airline of the Year | Winner | Emirates Skycargo |
| Highly Acclaimed | Qatar Airways Cargo | |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | Winner | Cyrus J Guzder |