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update situation air freight in china
The new outbreak of the Corona pandemic in China is mostly under control. However, the impact on the air cargo industry continues to grow, mainly due to the strict prevention measures. The Chinese government gives the Covid virus “zero tolerance”!
In addition to the two measures mentioned below, the ban on P 2 C aircraft and the reduction of turnaround time, the following new measures apply:
Aircraft crews are no longer allowed to stay overnight in China, they must leave the same day/night. No overnight stays for crews and aircraft. This means that airlines will have to use two crews. The direct and immediate consequence is that airlines are cancelling flights because they have a serious crew/storage problem. Shanghai airport, for example, has only used just over 33% of its capacity in recent weeks.
All airside and terminal workers are subject to “Triple 7” checks, i.e. :
a. 7 days work and stay in a designated hotel, no return home.
b. 7 days quarantine in a designated hotel different from the above.
c. 7 days quarantine at home.
This has shrunk the workforce by almost 50%! Some airlines have decided to stop carrying import cargo to Shanghai so that priority can be given to loading export cargo. Others are not accepting export cargo to give priority to import cargo!
All these measures are expected to continue for a few more weeks. The airline industry will continue to be severely affected. Less capacity means higher tariffs! Air cargo volumes have more or less reached the same level as before the pandemic, but capacity has dropped considerably.
