https://www.engineeringnews.co.za
Africa|Charter|Freight|Services|Testing|transport|Infrastructure|Operations
Africa|Charter|Freight|Services|Testing|transport|Infrastructure|Operations
africa|charter|freight|services|testing|transport|infrastructure|operations

Air cargo demand dropped sharply in March, except in Africa; capacity down even more

29th April 2020

By: Rebecca Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

Font size: - +

Worldwide air cargo demand fell sharply in March, but air cargo capacity fell even more, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) reported on April 28. But the demand for air cargo for pharmaceuticals increased by about 100%. (Iata defines air cargo as being freight plus mail.) These developments were the result of the Covid-19 pandemic and attempts by countries to contain it.

“At present, we don’t have enough capacity to meet the remaining demand for air cargo,” warned Iata director-general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac. “Volumes fell by over 15% in March compared to the previous year. But capacity plummeted by almost 23%. The gap must be addressed quickly because vital supplies must get to where they are needed most. For example, there is a doubling of demand for pharmaceutical shipments that are critical to this crisis.”

But air cargo charter operations were still being hampered by delays in the issuing of permits, by inadequate ground infrastructure not only within airports but to and from airports as well, and by failures to exempt cargo aircraft flight crew from Covid-19 testing. To be effective, air cargo needed its entire supply chain to be efficient.

“With most of the passenger fleet sitting idle, airlines are doing their best to meet demand by adding freighter services, including adapting passenger aircraft to all-cargo activity,” he reported. “But mounting these special operations continues to face bureaucratic hurdles. Governments must cut the red tape needed to approve special flights and ensure safe and efficient facilitation of crew.”

Consequently, Iata called on governments to reduce the bureaucracy required to authorise cargo charter flights. The association also urged countries to exempt cargo aircraft flight crew from the quarantine rules that were applied to their populations at large, and to make certain that there were adequate air cargo processing staff and facilities to ensure efficient operations on the ground.

The region least affected by the fall in air cargo demand was Africa, where international demand, measured in cargo (metric) ton kilometres, fell by only 1.2% (year-on-year) in March. In fact, the Africa-Asia route was the world’s only air cargo trade lane which grew in March, by nearly 10% in volume terms year-on-year. In contrast, the worst affected region was Latin America, which saw a 19.3% drop in demand, year-on-year. Demand in Europe fell 18.8%, in the Asia-Pacific by 15.9%, in the Middle East by 14.1% and in North America by 13.1%.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

Multotec
Multotec

Multotec, recognised industry leaders in metallurgy and process engineering help mining houses across the world process minerals more efficiently,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
WearCheck
WearCheck

Leading condition monitoring specialists, WearCheck, help boost machinery lifespan and reduce catastrophic component failure through the scientific...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.121 0.228s - 140pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now