Category: Uncategorized

By Rebecca Jeffrey

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has finalised a purchase agreement with Airbus for seven A350F freighter aircraft.

The carrier signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Airbus in December to purchase seven of the recently launched A350F freighter aircraft, with options to order another five aircraft.

This order will replace SIA’s existing 747-400F fleet from the fourth quarter of 2025. Other recent orders of the A350F have been from CMA CGM and Air France-KLM.

The order was signed at the Singapore Airshow by SIA chief executive officer Goh Choong Phong, and Airbus chief commercial officer and head of international Christian Scherer.

Choong Phong said: “This order underscores the importance of the cargo market to the SIA Group. The introduction of the A350F will enhance our capabilities in this key sector, ensuring that we are ready for the growth opportunities that will arise in the coming years. These new-generation aircraft will substantially increase our operating efficiencies and reduce our fuel burn, making an important contribution towards the success of our long-term decarbonisation goals.”

“Singapore Airlines is the world’s largest operator of the A350 and is now set to become the first to fly the all-new freighter variant,” added Christian Scherer. “The A350F will fit seamlessly into the carrier’s existing fleet, while redefining the operational efficiency of its cargo operations, bringing a 40% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions compared with the aircraft it will replace at SIA, while offering the same payload-carrying capacity and longer range. Consumer patterns have changed dramatically in recent times, generating increased demand for the swift transport of cargo by air. With the A350F, SIA will be well-positioned to respond to this enormous market potential in a profitable and sustainable way.”

With a 109- tonne payload capability, the A350F will serve all cargo markets. The aircraft features a large main deck cargo door, with its fuselage length and capacity optimised around the industry’s standard pallets and containers.

The A350F will be powered by fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. More than 70% of the airframe will be made of advanced materials, resulting in a 30-tonne lighter take-off weight and generating at least 20% lower fuel consumption and emissions over its current closest competitor, said Airbus. The A350F will also fully meet ICAO’s enhanced CO₂ emissions standards coming into effect in 2027.

Singapore Airlines is the world’s largest operator of the A350, with 58 currently in service.

Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA), in partnership with Airlines for America (A4A) and 28 US and international aviation and travel and tourism stakeholder groups, urged the US government to remove the pre-departure testing requirement for fully vaccinated air travelers flying to the US.

The vaccinated traveler population adds no additional risks to the domestic US population. Increased immunity levels, the pervasiveness of COVID-19 in all 50 US states, rising vaccination rates and new therapeutics, all point to removing the testing requirement for fully vaccinated travelers.

“The experience of Omicron has made it clear that travel restrictions have little to no impact in terms of preventing its spread. Moreover, as Omicron is already broadly present across the US, fully vaccinated travelers bring no extra risk to the local population. International travelers should face no additional screening requirements than what is applied to domestic travel. In fact, at this stage of the pandemic, travel should be managed in the same way as access to shopping malls, restaurants or offices,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

More than 74.3 million people — meaning at least 22% of the US population — have had COVID-19, and that is almost certainly an undercount owing to asymptomatic infections and limited testing early in the pandemic. When combined with an adult population that is 74% fully vaccinated, it is clear that the US is developing very high levels of population immunity.

The organizations also noted that the EU has recommended that its member states remove COVID-19 travel restrictions for travel within the EU, and the United Kingdom has announced the removal of COVID-19 pre-departure testing for vaccinated air travellers to enter the country. The UK concluded that the cost to both passengers and airlines of the testing mandate could no longer be justified as there was no evidence the regime protected the population from COVID-19.

Recent research by Oxera and Edge Health in Italy, Finland, and the UK all support the conclusion that travel measures do little to control the spread of COVID-19 when it is already broadly present in the local population. The studies found that, if implemented at a very early stage, travel restrictions may at best delay the peak of a new wave by a few days and marginally reduce the number of cases. 

Furthermore, IATA’s most recent air traveler survey showed that 62% of respondents support removing a testing requirement for those who are fully vaccinated.

“Removing the pre-departure testing requirement for fully vaccinated travelers will greatly support the recovery of travel and aviation in the US and globally without increasing the spread of COVID-19 and its variants in the US population. There is no use in closing the barn door after the horse has bolted,” said Walsh.

Geneva – The International Air Transport Association welcomed the creation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) of a global directory of public keys required for authentication of health credentials. The directory—called the Health Master List (HML)—will make a significant contribution to the global recognition and verification (interoperability) of government issued health credentials.

A public key enables third parties to verify that a QR code displayed on a health credential is authentic and valid. The HLM is a compilation of public key certificates signed by ICAO and regularly updated as more health proofs are issued and new public keys are required. Its implementation will ease the global recognition of health credentials outside of the jurisdiction in which they were issued.

“For international travel today, it is critical that COVID-19 health passes can be efficiently verified outside of their country of issuance. While the keys for verification are available individually, the creation of a directory will significantly cut complexity, simplify operations and improve trust in the verification process. We encourage all states to submit their public health keys to the HLM,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

The sharing of public keys used to perform this verification does not involve any exchange of or access to personal information.

The HML is available on the ICAO website. All states can upload their public keys and download those of other governments.

Through a pilot project associated with the HML, private sector providers of solutions for governments to verify health credentials will also be able access these keys. This will help facilitate the broadest coverage of health certificates in their offerings as international travel continues to ramp-up. IATA will participate in this pilot program to support the deployment of the IATA Travel Pass.

A Step Forward for One ID

The air transport industry’s interest in this type of directory goes beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

“COVID-19 Health Certificates must be removed as we progress towards overall travel normalization and industry recovery. But we must retain and build on the operational experience of verifying certificates globally. That includes securely sharing access to public keys with private sector solution providers. This will help to drive progress for contactless verification of traveler identities for which similar keys are needed. We cannot under-estimate how important this will be for the implementation of One ID which has the potential to dramatically simplify travel,” said Walsh.

One ID uses digital identity management and biometric technologies to streamline travel by eliminating repetitive checks of paper documents. The contactless checking of travel health credentials is advancing the experience needed to operationalize One ID. The challenge is the same: universal recognition of verified digital credentials irrespective of the jurisdiction in which they were issued, or the standard used. The successful sharing of public keys to verify COVID-19 health certificates will demonstrate that similar keys for digital identity documents can also be securely and efficiently be collected and shared, including with private sector solution providers.

For more information, please contact:

Corporate Communications

By Rebecca Jeffrey

Copyright: Shutterstock

Strong air cargo rates are set to continue but capacity and ground handling challenges will continue.

This was the takeaway from the World Cargo Summit’s Air Cargo Market Update & Outlook, which focused on the market outlook for 2022 and beyond, hot spots for growth and the outlook for cargo charters.

Niall van de Wouw, managing director at CLIVE Data Services, said the company’s data comparing the fourth quarter of 2021 to the same period in 2019 showed that rates continued to increase on a global level, on average two and half times as high as pre-Covid.

It became tougher to move goods because of the challenges ground handling staff faced in loading/unloading/preighters. This led to congestion, which affected throughput.

“The difficulty in getting goods from A to B pushed up the rates to unprecedented levels.”

In the first two weeks of January 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 rates were up more than 40%.

“Looking ahead we currently see no fundamental changes in the dynamics that are causing these rates to be at these levels that we expect any easing soon.”

Abel Alemu, managing director, Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services, added that Covid-related labour shortages and quarantine restrictions “will keep capacity tighter for longer” and this may result in “persistently elevated airfreight rates”.

He added that reduced bellyhold capacity will also contribute to this “upwards pressure on airfreight rates”.

The industry stakeholders agreed that due to full order books for freighters, capacity remains in demand.

Reto Hunziker, group cargo director for charter broker Chapman Freeborn said the company has managed this by using in-house own control capacity including Bluebird Nordic 737s and Magma Aviation 747s, plus third-party carriers. He said that zero LOPA configuration aircraft also helped.

Konstantin Vekshin, chief executive officer of  Volga-Dnepr Group said the company resumed its Antonov 124-100 operations in 2021, but the fleet of 12’s estimated lifespan of 10-12 years is a concern. “It is a very unique piece of equipment and there is no replacement for it.”

Ethiopian Airlines Group is working with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to launch a B767-300ER freighter conversion line in Ethiopia. Alemu confirmed Ethiopian Cargo also currently has 20 preighters.

Ground handling support with regards to staff shortages and restrictions is a major concern.

Alemu pointed out some airports in Europe have said they will not handle preighters, while US ground handlers also have restrictions.

Hunziker said Chapman Freeborn has faced cancelled flights and delayed cargo clearance from airports of up to five days. “We have very big challenges with preighters especially out of China and Kong Kong both into Europe and the US.” As a result, there has been a shift to Vietnam and Korea, where the company operates preighters long term.

Vekshin added that Volga-Dnepr will await China’s legislation this year following the country’s ban on preighters. “If they’re sticking to their plans that maybe a game changer for the industry, at least for 2022…as it will affect all of us.”

Pharmaceuticals, PPE and e-commerce demand are set to continue to be strong drivers for the air cargo industry, according to Hunziker and Alemu.

Alemu said in the second half of 2021 major trade lanes were China-Europe, China-Latin America and South East Asia–US. The company saw major growth in South East Asia and recorded the largest expansion in Latin America.

Hunziker said growth was recorded worldwide in 2021 with China the driver for this.

Van de Wouw said US growth was up 30% in 2021 compared to 2020 when it was hit hard by Covid. APAC growth remained high in 2020 because of PPE trade, so 2021’s growth was not high.

He explained the Europe to US market is much stronger than from the US to Europe, adding Asia Pacific into the US “dwarfs” the market from the US to APAC.

While continued ocean freight congestion and reduced belly capacity is driving air cargo demand, the industry has no control over these factors, so uncertainty over the sustainability of growth remains, said van de Wouw.

He thinks as passenger demand returns “things will get worse” initially as there will be less room for cargo and pressure for capacity, until flight frequency increases but he doesn’t “see that happening anytime soon”.

27 / 01 / 2022

Image: Lufthansa Cargo Center (LCC) at Frankfurt Airport

Lufthansa Cargo’s handling operation at its Frankfurt hub has been “significantly” affected by Omicron infections amongst staff.

The carrier told Air Cargo News that transit shipment from the US, Canada and Europe, including Germany will be affected by a transit embargo as it looks to stabilise operations at Frankfurt.

“Loose freight via the Frankfurt hub from US & Canada and Europe (incl. Germany) that has not yet been delivered can unfortunately no longer be accepted by us and transported in a timely manner,” Lufthansa Cargo said.

Sister title, DVZ, reports that around 15% of volumes handled at its Frankfurt facility will be affected by the embargo.

However, direct deliveries as well as outbound deliveries in Frankfurt are still possible.

Certain product groups may also continue to fly, this includes urgent freight (same day shipments), valuable freight, animals, organ donations, mail and temperature-controlled shipments.

“Cargo that has already been accepted by us will be handled as soon as feasible,” Lufthansa Cargo added.

The carrier also stressed that all shipments routed through its hubs in Munich, Vienna and Brussels are not affected and these facilities are operating normally.

“Due to its high transmissibility, the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus continues to keep us on our toes and the infection figures have reached new record levels,” Lufthansa Cargo said.

“Notwithstanding the extensive preventive measures in place, we are now directly witnessing the increased infection incidence.

“This is leading to a pandemic-related abnormal reduction in staffing levels, which is significantly affecting our operations at this stage.”

It added: “We firmly believe that these measures will help to stabilise the situation and that we will gradually be able to return to normal operations as soon as possible.”

25 January 2022               

Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged governments to accelerate relaxation of travel restrictions as COVID-19 continues to evolve from the pandemic to endemic stage. IATA called for:

•             Removing all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine.

•             Enabling quarantine-free travel for non-vaccinated travelers with a negative pre-departure antigen test result.

•             Removing travel bans, and

•             Accelerating the easing of travel restrictions in recognition that travelers pose no greater risk for COVID-19 spread than already exists in the general population.

“With the experience of the Omicron variant, there is mounting scientific evidence and opinion opposing the targeting of travelers with restrictions and country bans to control the spread of COVID-19. The measures have not worked. Today Omicron is present in all parts of the world. That’s why travel, with very few exceptions, does not increase the risk to general populations. The billions spent testing travelers would be far more effective if allocated to vaccine distribution or strengthening health care systems,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Evidence

A recently published study by Oxera and Edge Health(i) demonstrated the extremely limited impact of travel restrictions on controlling the spread of Omicron. The study found that:

•             If the UK’s extra measures(ii) with respect to Omicron had been in place from the beginning of November (prior to the identification of the variant), the peak of the Omicron wave would have been delayed by just five days with 3% fewer cases.

•             The absence of any testing measures for travelers would have seen the Omicron wave peak seven days earlier with an overall 8% increase in cases.

•             Now that Omicron is highly prevalent in the UK, if all travel testing requirements were removed there would be no impact on Omicron case numbers or hospitalizations in the UK.

“While the study is specific to the UK, it is clear that travel restrictions in any part of the world have had little impact on the spread of COVID-19, including the Omicron variant. The UK, France and Switzerland have recognized this and are among the first to begin removing travel measures. More governments need to follow their lead. Accelerating the removal of travel restrictions will be a major step towards living with the virus,” said Walsh.

With respect to travel bans, last week, the WHO Emergency Committee confirmed their recommendation to “Lift or ease international traffic bans as they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to the economic and social stress experienced by States. The failure of travel restrictions introduced after the detection and reporting of Omicron variant to limit international spread of Omicron demonstrates the ineffectiveness of such measures over time.”

What happens when COVID-19 is confirmed as endemic?

All indications point to COVID-19 becoming an endemic condition—one that humankind now has the tools (including vaccination and therapeutics) to live and travel with, bolstered by growing population immunity.

This aligns with the advice from public health experts to shift the policy focus from an individual’s health status towards policies focusing on population-wide protection. It is important that governments and the travel industry are well-prepared for the transition and ready to remove the burden of measures that disrupt travel.

 “The current situation of travel restrictions is a mess. There is one problem—COVID-19. But there seem to be more unique solutions to managing travel and COVID-19 than there are countries to travel to. Indeed research from the Migration Policy Institute has counted more than 100,000 travel measures around the world that create complexity for passengers, airlines and governments to manage. We have two years of experience to guide us on a simplified and coordinated path to normal travel when COVID-19 is endemic. That normality must recognize that travelers, with very few exceptions, will present no greater risk than exists in the general population. And that’s why travelers should not be subject to any greater restrictions than are applied to the general community,” said Walsh.

Vaccination Priorities

Mutually recognized policies on vaccination will be critical as we approach the endemic phase. Barrier-free travel is a potent incentive for vaccination. The sustainability of this incentive must not be compromised by vaccine policies that complicate travel or divert vaccine resources from where they can do the most good. Issues to address include:

 •            Accepted vaccines: There is no universal recognition for all vaccines on the WHO Emergency Use list. This raises a barrier to travel as people have little choice on the range of vaccines available in their country.

•             Validity: There is no alignment on the length of vaccine validity. This will become a barrier to travel as eligibility for boosters is controlled by national policies. Unduly short validity periods that effectively require air passengers to get regular booster jabs to travel internationally will consume resources that could support primary vaccination in the developing world and booster doses for the most vulnerable. It is reported that the WHO’s Chief Scientist called for booster doses to be used “to protect the most vulnerable, to protect those at highest risk of severe disease and dying. Those are […] elderly populations, immuno-compromised people with underlying conditions, but also healthcare workers.”

 •            Distribution priorities: The calls of WHO and health experts for vaccine equity are not universally prioritized. Only half the states in Africa have been able to vaccinate more than 10% of their populations while many developed countries are reducing vaccination validity and considering second rounds of boosters. This creates a barrier to travel and strains testing resources in parts of the world where vaccine distribution is less advanced.

“Urgent consideration is needed for several critical concerns regarding vaccines. While Europe is aligning around a nine-month validity period for primary vaccinations, this is not universal. And booster shot validity has not been addressed. As the first quarter of the year is key to bookings for the peak-northern summer travel season, it is important to provide certainty to potential travelers as early as possible. Governments have declared intentions to support a travel recovery. Addressing questions on vaccination validity is a key element,” said Walsh.

Industry and Governments Finding Solutions Together

In October, the Ministerial Declaration of the ICAO High-level Conference on COVID-19 called for “one vision for aviation recovery.” IATA followed-up by publishing From Restart to Recovery in November. It is a blueprint for reconnecting the world following key principles of simplicity, predictability and practicality.

“The over-reaction of many governments to Omicron proved the blueprint’s key point—the need for simple, predictable and practical means of living with the virus that don’t constantly default to de-connecting the world. We have seen that targeting disproportionate measures at travelers has economic and social costs but very limited public health benefits. We must aim at a future where international travel faces no greater restriction than visiting a shop, attending a public gathering or riding the bus,” said Walsh.

 IATA Travel Pass

The successful rollout of the IATA Travel Pass continues with a growing number of  airlines already using it in daily operations to support the validation of health credentials for travel.

“Whatever the rules are for vaccination requirements, the industry will be able to manage them with digital solutions, the leader of which is the IATA Travel Pass. It’s a matured solution being implemented across a growing number of global networks,” said Walsh.

12 January 2022                No: 02

Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the recovery in air travel continued in November 2021, prior to the emergence of Omicron. International demand sustained its steady upward trend as more markets reopened. Domestic traffic, however, weakened, largely owing to strengthened travel restrictions in China.

Because comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted all comparisons are to November 2019, which followed a normal demand pattern.

•             Total demand for air travel in November 2021 (measured in revenue passenger-kilometers or RPKs) was down 47.0% compared to November 2019. This marked an uptick compared to October’s 48.9% contraction from October 2019. 

•             Domestic air travel deteriorated slightly in November after two consecutive monthly improvements. Domestic RPKs fell by 24.9% versus 2019 compared with a 21.3% decline in October. Primarily this was driven by China, where traffic fell 50.9% compared to 2019, after several cities introduced stricter travel restrictions to contain (pre-Omicron) COVID outbreaks.

•             International passenger demand in November was 60.5% below November 2019, bettering the 64.8% decline recorded in October.

“The recovery in air traffic continued in November. Unfortunately, governments over-reacted to the emergence of the Omicron variant at the close of the month and resorted to the tried-and-failed methods of border closures, excessive testing of travelers and quarantine to slow the spread. Not surprisingly, international ticket sales made in December and early January fell sharply compared to 2019, suggesting a more difficult first quarter than had been expected. If the experience of the last 22 months has shown anything, it is that there is little to no correlation between the introduction of travel restrictions and preventing transmission of the virus across borders. And these measures place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods. If experience is the best teacher, let us hope that governments pay more attention as we begin the New Year, ” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

November 2021(% chg vs the same month in 2019)          World share1     RPK        ASK        PLF (%-pt)2         PLF (level)3

Total Market      100.0%  -47.0%  -39.7%  -9.7%     71.3%

Africa    2.0%      -55.1%  -48.4%  -9.2%     61.6%

Asia Pacific          38.5%    -69.8%  -58.9%  -21.7%  59.7%

Europe 23.8%    -39.4%  -32.7%  -8.3%     75.2%

Latin America     5.6%      -27.5%  -27.4%  -0.1%     82.2%

Middle East        7.4%      -52.6%  -43.6%  -11.6%  61.6%

North America  22.7%    -18.8%  -15.4%  -3.3%     78.6%

1% of industry RPKs   2Change in load factor vs 2019 3Load Factor Level

 International Passenger Markets

•             European carriers’ November international traffic declined 43.7% versus November 2019, much improved compared to the 49.4%% decrease in October versus the same month in 2019. Capacity dropped 36.3% and load factor fell 9.7 percentage points to 74.3%.

•             Asia-Pacific airlines saw their November international traffic fall 89.5% compared to November 2019, slightly improved from the 92.0% drop registered in October 2021 versus October 2019. Capacity dropped 80.0% and the load factor was down 37.8 percentage points to 42.2%, the lowest among regions.

•             Middle Eastern airlines had a 54.4% demand drop in November compared to November 2019, well up compared to the 60.9% decrease in October, versus the same month in 2019. Capacity declined 45.5%, and load factor slipped 11.9 percentage points to 61.3%.

•             North American carriers experienced a 44.8% traffic drop in November versus the 2019 period, significantly improved over the 56.7% decline in October compared to October 2019. Capacity dropped 35.6%, and load factor fell 11.6 percentage points to 69.6%.

•             Latin American airlines saw a 47.2% drop in November traffic, compared to the same month in 2019, a marked upturn over the 54.6% decline in October compared to October 2019. November capacity fell 46.6% and load factor dropped 0.9 percentage points to 81.3%, which was the highest load factor among the regions for the 14th consecutive month.

•             African airlines’ traffic fell 56.8% in November versus two years’ ago, improved over the 59.8% decline in October compared to October 2019. November capacity was down 49.6% and load factor declined 10.1 percentage points to 60.3%.

Domestic Passenger Markets

November 2021 (% chg vs the same month in 2019)         World share1     RPK        ASK        PLF (%-pt)2         PLF (level)3

Domestic             54.2%    -24.9%  -18.3%  -6.6%     75.6%

Australia              0.8%      -71.6%  -57.4%  -27.9%  55.6%

Brazil     1.6%      -8.5%     -8.1%     -0.4%     82.3%

China P.R.            19.8%    -50.9%  -33.2%  -22.1%  61.1%

India      2.1%      -17.1%  -7.1%     -9.6%     80.2%

Japan    1.4%      -37.5%  -23.6%  -14.3%  64.5%

Russian Fed.       3.4%      17.5%    12.6%    3.5%      83.5%

US          16.6%    -6.0%     -5.1%     -0.8%     81.4%

1% of industry RPKs   2Change in load factor vs 2019 3Load Factor Level

•             Australia remained at the bottom of the domestic RPK chart for the fifth consecutive month with RPKs 71.6% below 2019, albeit this was improved from a 78.5% decline in October, owing to the reopening of some internal borders.

•             US domestic traffic was down just 6.0% compared November 2019 – improved from an 11.1% fall in October, thanks in part to strong Thanksgiving holiday traffic.

View the full November Air Passenger Market Analysis

By Alfred Chua, Flight Global

China Airlines has disclosed record cargo revenues for 2021, as it doubles down on what it calls a “cargo-centric business model”.

For the full year, the Taiwanese carrier says cargo revenue surpassed NT$100bn ($3.6bn), the highest in its 62 years of operations.

China Airlines also stated that freighter revenue in December hit a single-month high of more than NT$15.4bn.

While it has yet to disclose its full-year earnings, the uptick in cargo takings is expected to help offset a collapse in passenger travel revenue amid the pandemic, and provide a lift to the carrier’s profitability.

China Airlines’ cargo unit operates a fleet of 21 dedicated freighters, comprising 18 Boeing 747-400Fs, as well as three 777 freighters.

The SkyTeam carrier mounted around 540 cargo flights a month, averaging around 120 flights weekly.

It added: “The integration of passenger and freighter capacity along with continued optimisation of schedules and connections meant that over a hundred passenger and freighter charter flights were dispatched in a given month.”

China Airlines, along with compatriot EVA Air, swung back to profitability in the third quarter of 2021, amid a steady rise in revenue. In previous quarters, both carriers have pointed to a strong cargo performance as a key factor in boosting their earnings.

“China Airlines will continue to focus on its cargo operations, closely monitor developments in the passenger market, and carefully review its passenger market strategy, as it works to maximise its operational profits,” the carrier said.

31 / 12 / 2021

By Damian Brett

Cathay Pacific Cargo B747F

Cathay Pacific has suspended all long-haul freighter and cargo-only passenger flights to and from Hong Kong until January 6.

The Hong Kong carrier said the move was in response to recently announced more stringent quarantine requirements for Hong Kong-based cargo crews.

The suspension applies to all long-haul cargo flights covering the transpacific, Europe, South West Pacific, Riyadh, and Dubai.

“We sincerely apologise for the disruption caused. We will be working with customers to mitigate the disruption as much as possible,” the airline’s cargo division stated.

“In addition, we are working with the relevant stakeholders on plans beyond 6 January and will communicate further on these as soon as possible.”

On December 28, the carrier had warned that the new crew restrictions could affect operations through the first quarter.

“Operational and travel restrictions that remain in place continue to constrain our ability to operate flights as planned,” the carrier said.

“We are consolidating our cargo flight schedule for the first quarter of 2022. There will be reductions to long-haul freighter and cargo-only passenger flight capacity.

“We regret that contracted tonnage will be impacted during this time. Our local sales teams will communicate specific details with affected customers directly.”

The BBC reports that some passenger flights have also been affected by the changes.

The move comes as Hong Kong battles the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus.

By Damian Brett

Air cargo rates are set to remain at an elevated level. Source: Bollore Logistics

The Omicron variant is set to keep air cargo capacity tight and as a result air cargo rates will remain at an elevated level.

In the latest Baltic Exchange market update, investment bank Stifel senior analyst Bruce Chan said that the new variant will restrict network capacity due to safety protocols, episodic infection and national response.

He added: “This and other new variants are likely going to delay a return to pre-pandemic international business travel (or international travel in general), which means that the complete return of belly capacity on those core lanes will also get pushed out.”

Chan said that there was also at least some risk that belly capacity may never fully recover if there is a permanent switch to hybrid in-person/virtual business.

“With renewed lockdowns in some countries and geographies, and with continued and not unreasonable public concern about viral spread, we believe the eventual transition of discretionary dollar spend away from goods and back to services may be elongated as well,” he said.

“These factors should support persistently elevated airfreight rates, in our view, and any shippers that were looking for relief in the seasonal first quarter freight lull may not find it – at least to the extent that they expect.”

Last week, IATA’s director general Willie Walsh also warned that a knee-jerk reaction to the Omicron variant from governments could have an impact on cargo capacity if restrictions dampen passenger demand.

Walsh said that after almost two years of Covid-19, governments have the experience and tools to make better data-driven decisions than the “mostly knee-jerk reactions to restrict travel that we have seen to date”.

“Restrictions will not stop the spread of Omicron,” he said. “Along with urgently reversing these policy mistakes, the focus of governments should be squarely on ensuring the integrity of supply chains and increasing the distribution of vaccines.”

The warnings come as airfreight rates continued to increase last week.

The latest figures from the Baltic Exchange Airfreight Index (BAI) show that prices from Hong Kong to North America reached a new index record of $12.41 per kg, compared with $6.77 per kg in the same week last year and $3.66 per kg in 2019.

There was also a new index record on services from Hong Kong to Europe, which reached $8.46 per kg compared with $5.61 per kg in the same week last year and $3.27 per kg in 2019.