In early May of this year, as we moved about Transport Logistik and Air Cargo Europe 2017 in Munich, we noted that a fine fellow and colleague, Emirates SkyCargo’s Prakash Nair, was not present at Emirates big dominator display.
      As it turns out, Prakash retired after 30 years of service at SkyCargo.
      But gone cannot be forgotten. Prakash Nair was and is a gem of a great human being.
      Prakash joined Emirates in 1987, part of the team that was instrumental at the genesis of SkyCargo.       Back when the fleet was small and the idea of a great, Dubai-based world airline was a dream of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, and the operation was peopled with innovators like Maurice Flanagan, and on the cargo side Peter Sedgley, Ram Menen, Pradeep Kumar, and of course Prakash Nair.
      As part of the start up team, Prakash got busy implementing the plan to appoint general sales agents and cargo sales agents, and setting up the capacity control team.

      But Prakash is best known as the kind, genteel, and totally professional face of Emirates SkyCargo, always present at various trade show events in all parts of the world. He had been at Air Cargo Europe in Munich for as long as the show has been in business.
      In fact, as part of the SkyCargo Team, Prakash was also involved with the original committee that founded Air Cargo Europe.

      We talked to many people about Prakash Nair and his time during that particular era in Dubai now past.
      Most significantly the great pioneering Issa Baluch, who is among the half dozen greatest cargo transportation executives ever had this to say:
      “Among other attributes, Prakash Nair always appeared as a very dedicated professional who was outstanding and a great Ambassador of Emirates SkyCargo at exhibitions and conferences overseas.
      “I would remember him manning the stands and spreading the word of Emirates non-stop.
      “That commitment and energy built the product and image the core team was so passionate about.
      “I mention team and passion here, because it was only through such unity of the managerial professionals under the leadership and vision of Ram Menen that they disrupted the status quo and staged a product that catapulted Emirates SkyCargo to the top of the air cargo business worldwide.
      “Ram, Prakash and company delivered clear customer focus as the cornerstone of their offering.
      “Prakash was amongst the drivers of that vision and I had great professional encounters with him.
      “Prakash Nair, alongside Ram Menen and Pradeep Kumar—a powerful triumvirate for good in air cargo—will always have my highest praises and regards as true professionals.’

      Today, Emirates SkyCargo, which went from zero to hero in 30 years, is the largest international cargo carrier in the world,” Prakash said.
      “I am ever so grateful to Emirates and all my colleagues both at that wonderful airline and around the world for the opportunity to have been part of the air cargo business.
      “Now with Anita, we look forward to family and life in retirement with wonderful memories and full anticipation as our children move on with their careers, education, and lives,” Prakash adds.
      We wish Prakash, Anita, Nikhita, and Rohan Nair every good wish, and hope that the future offers all comforts for a well-earned and richly-deserved retirement.
Geoffrey