Kaamco cargo meeting updates
Cargo committee takes lead in FOD removal
AIRPORT VOICE, MAY 2019 13
BY JEFF YAPALATER
The Kaamco Cargo Committee
held its April meeting
to a full house. Acting
Chairman Phil Jensen with
board members shared recent
cargo news to members
and visitors. An important
comment made by the committee
was the importance
for all those cargo stakeholders
to attend meetings. Other
topics included the need for a
new chairperson, plus mail
and property coordinators to
bring the committee to full
functionality, recent post office
operations, FOD day and
the larger issue of pallets and
other equipment left in unauthorized
airport areas during
regular operations.
Jensen complimented the
post office for doing the best
job in years handling surges
in holiday and overall efficiency.
He attributed to the
use of the additional building
#197 and hiring of more staff
for incoming mail during
peak seasons.
Jensen reported on the recent
Cargo FOD cargo area inspection
that was undertaken
by committee members and
the Port. After the inspection
a written report was provided
by Port Aeronautics Services
Guillio Minguillo The written
report detailed foreign object
debris in specific cargo
areas and these areas were
rated good to poor by the inspection
team. Following the
announcement of this report
at the meeting a conversation
ensued about responsibilities
of loose equipment
by ground handlers, airlines,
and the Port. On the overall
system of how equipment is
left about the airport, Jensen
said there is “ No consistency
in way we do business”, and
others at the meeting did not
disagree. The Cargo committee
reported that it is hard to
track how the equipment gets
scattered but a partial explanation
is based on the fact
that airlines often use different
companies for passenger
and cargo work for baggage
and mail. One hand may not
know that the other is doing.
Additionally handling contracts
come and go with actual
details of responsibilities
not entirely clear on matters
like these.
The report revealed that
a large number of ULDs and
pallets are scattered around
different areas of the airport
which had some stakeholders
concerned about safety and
their equipment. A discussion
about better ways of handling
stray equipment was held. One
suggestion was a possible third
party creating a common container
facility where these
pieces could be housed and
charged a fee for storage and
retrieval. Another idea was for
Port to provide a space where
staging racks for pallets might
be stored until picked up by the
owners.
Jensen added that the good
news is that ramp areas are
FOD free. He said that the reduction
in of plastics was good
news since this product can be
a deadly item if found in the
wrong areas affecting safety.
The biggest find was the
number of stacked pallets that
were just left behind mainly in
unauthorized Port areas. The
committee stated that it will attempt
to identify the property
and repatriate equipment with
their rightful owners. Representatives
from Unilode and
LugTrack were on hand to talk
about their services that would
help companies with the flow
and tracking of their equipment
that would eventually aid
in this effort.
Comments from the committee
report of the FOD inspection
included Kaamco
Cargo Best Practices:
¥¥ Continue to improve
ULD safe management
on the ramps’
¥¥ Avoid placing ULDs and
aircraft pallets in prohibited
areas
¥¥ Take accountability of
what is yours
¥¥ Sweep ramps on a frequent
basis to avoid FOD
build up
¥¥ Abide by airport rules
and regulations
The committee reported
that the airport will hold a
major FOD Clean-Up Day on
May 16. The effort is a partnership
between the Port, the
JFK Chamber of Commerce
and the cargo community. All
members were encouraged to
participate by emailing gwminguillo@
panynj.gov. The
annual event draws stakeholders,
other airport organizations
and nearby aviation
school volunteers.
Jensen announced an
enhancement to JFK with
Worldwide Flight Services
certified as New York’s first
GDP (Good Distribution Practice)
compliant pharma facility
in Building 66 . Building
manager Joe Palermo commented
that the pharma industry
has become the biggest
cargo niche and WFS is
the only facility at JFK offering
this service and that they
are proud to be the ground
handler selected by Swiss
WorldCargo.
Customs Border Protection
referred members to the
CBP Pipeline notification
that there is a requirement
to move CBP resources from
JFK to the Southern Border
of the U.S. The CBP said they
will do their best given the upcoming
busy season and will
meet the meeting challenges
during the busy summer by
addressing concerns of the
cargo committee and passenger
wait times. In a related
comment, it was mentioned
that there is a long time for
new hires to be vetted and approved
by the badging area.
David Hopkins of the NYC
Economic Development Office
reported that there is an
RFP for a piece of land active
development site, south side
of Rockaway Boulevard at the
corner of Eastern Road and
abutting JFK on part of Block
14260, Lot 1 in Queens. For
bidding information, https://
www.nycedc.com/opportunity/
jfk-development-site .
Submission deadline June 7,
2019 at 4:00 pm.
The committee also reminded
members of the upcoming
Kaamco Annual Convention
to be held in Puerto
Rico to aid local tourism.
Kaamco members made announcements.
Joe Clabby from
the JFK Chamber of Commerce
announced the upcoming
luncheon at the TWA Hotel
on May 30 featuring David
Neeleman, founder of JetBlue
and Azul as guest speaker, the
upcoming FOD Day on May 16,
and handed out an Emergency
Numbers flyer which can also
be found in the April issue of
the Airport Voice. Mike Bednarz
representing the JFK Air
Cargo Association reminded
everyone that the April
JFKACA luncheon featuring
Kenya Airways Cargo Dick
was being held at the Hilton
following the committee meeting,
Dolores Hofman invited
the cargo companies to take
a table at the annual Queens
Air Services Development Office
event at Russos on June
5th. She also reported that the
Rockaway Development & Revitalization
Corp. is holding
its 33rd Annual Tribute & Gala
Dinner and honoring her.
The committee also recognized
guest attendees Don
Hoffman, JFK Freight Forwarders
Association; Anthony
Corcione of Unilode;
Melissa Gregorio of Prologis;
Adnan Gadeer and Mike Allen
of Lugtrack.
The JFK Air Cargo Association's luncheon guest speaker was Kenya Airways Cargo General Manager Dick Murianki; third from the left. From left
are Mike Bednarz; Port Authority; Michael Cox; Aviacargo; and JFKACA board members Peter Debenigno; Mobile Air; President Joe Badamo; VP
Silkway; Phil Jensen; VP WFS. Photo by Jeff Yapalater
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