Global supply chains have been severely impacted by the blanket travel restrictions in many countries due to the highly contagious coronavirus, resulting in the loss of significant cargo capacity by air.
Passenger operations have been reduced so drastically that there is just not the capacity in the system to meet even the reduced levels of air cargo.
This includes vital medical shipments on which people’s lives depend.
That said, the one part of the air transport industry that continues to operate is the cargo sector.
And it is struggling to meet demand.
According to the global trade body of airlines – IATA, ensuring smooth air cargo shipments is crucial.
With the evaporation of passenger demand and cancellation of passenger flights, vital air cargo capacity has disappeared.
On the other hand, airlines are taking all measures to meet the remaining cargo demand.
“Unfortunately, airlines faced bottlenecks in getting appropriate permissions and crewing cargo flights amid quarantine restrictions. The result was delays to shipments when time is of the essence to fight the Covid-19 outbreak and keep global supply chains functioning,” IATA noted.
Airlines are being creative in mounting cargo operations as charters and even using passenger aircraft, points out IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac.
Certainly, aviation is a highly regulated industry.
And on top of the normal process of obtaining traffic rights and landing permissions, in the current situation, the industry is also seeing cargo crew being delayed by quarantine restrictions designed for commercial passengers.
In late-March, the European Commission published guidance, which will probably help clear the related roadblocks in Europe.
Industry analysts say the EC has understood the industry’s challenges and provided comprehensive and practical guidance to ensure that permissions to operate are quickly granted and that air crew are able to operate efficiently with exemptions from quarantine measures.
“We are in an emergency and the European Commission has responded with speed and clarity. EU member states need to act quickly to ensure that the guidance is followed so that air cargo – including vital shipments of medicines and medical equipment – gets to where it needs to be. Other governments should follow the EC’s example and implement similar measures so that we can unblock the global air cargo networks on which we all depend,” de Juniac said.
Among all the uncertainty in this crisis, one thing is clear – air cargo is key to delivering lifesaving drugs and medical equipment.
And it is a strong support pillar of the global supply chains.
That’s why it is critical for governments to remove any blockers as the industry does all it can to keep the global air cargo network functioning in the crisis and ready for the recovery.
Air cargo is a vital partner in the global fight against Covid-19.
But we are still seeing examples of cargo flights filled with life-saving medical supplies and equipment grounded due to cumbersome and bureaucratic processes to secure slots and operating permits.
Obviously, these delays are endangering lives.
Therefore, governments around the world need to step up to keep global supply chains open.