🕒 Article read time: 2 minutes
Air cargo industry up in the air
When the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP confirmed last month that international travel could resume from 17 May, just 12 countries and territories were named on the government’s ‘green list’.
While this is encouraging news for the air transport industry, a number of key destinations which are vital to the UK’s supply chain – such as Spain, France, Italy and the United States – were not included on the list and are among those listed in the amber category, requiring self-isolation upon return to the UK.
AIR CARGO CAPACITY CONSTRAINED
These restrictions will slow down the recovery of the air cargo sector as freight is often transported in the bellyhold of passenger aircraft. These rules will limit the demand for passenger travel and in turn, the availability of bellyhold space for freight. Bellyhold cargo at Heathrow accounted for more than 60% of total UK air freight volume in 2017, with forwarders and suppliers utilising the airport’s extensive intercontinental passenger network. Long-haul routes proved critical to this, with more than 30% of total air freight shipped on US routes. As a result, UK and US airlines have signed a joint letter to American and UK governments calling for an expedited route between UK and America, stating that air travel is a critical enabler of trade between the two countries – worth US$273 billion (£196 billion) in 2019.
BOOSTING REGIONAL EXPORTS
Utilising bellyhold capacity on long-haul routes can also boost exports from regional airports in the UK and as more intercontinental routes return to normal service and new destinations are added by airlines, export values across the UK can increase. Following the launch of a new direct passenger connection between Manchester Airport and Muscat, Oman in 2017, the value of exports flown from Manchester to Oman increased five-fold – to more than £40 million annually – with export values of flown products from the north west of the UK also increasing significantly.
“Logistics UK is calling for government to reopen passenger routes as soon as it is safe to do so, with successful vaccination programmes set to play a crucial role in this,” said Zoe McLernon, Multimodal Policy Manager, Logistics UK. “Integrators, who use their own freighter aircraft for cargo-only movements, have played an exceptional role over the course of the pandemic in keeping goods moving in and out of the country, and will continue to do so. However, it is important that the forwarder model recovers, and passenger numbers return to pre-pandemic levels, to support vital trade links across the globe.”
*www.logistics.org.uk/air
Published On: 03/06/2021 17:00:12
Comments Section
If you are a Logistics UK member login to add comments.
