Regional Pulse: Brazil congestion recovery lags behind other Latin American airports

While congestion at Latin American terminals has improved, Brazil’s major airports, including Guarulhos (GRU) and Viracopos (VCP), remain congested due to infrastructure challenges, hampering regional recovery. “Infrastructure challenges are creating additional bottlenecks at some airports [in Brazil],” Mads Ravn, executive vice president and global head of airfreight at Danish transport and logistics company DSV, told Air Cargo World . “Runways, warehouse space and slots are not sufficient to cope with current spikes in demand. Conversions from ocean to airfreight are not helping.” [caption id="attachment_98896" align="alignright" width="464"] Photo/LATAM Cargo[/caption] El Dorado International Airport (BOG) in Bogota and Mexico City International Airport (MEX) are also experiencing congestion, Ravn said. “Bogota is more affected during the high season for fresh-cut flowers , such as Mother’s [Day] and Valentine’s Day,” he said. “All three [BOG, MEX and GRU] are important hubs for connecting cargo to other South and Central American countries, hence the pressure is on for more than domestic trade.” In turn, cargo operators are needing schedule 24-hour operations to combat the significant challenges with congestion. "Our teams are experiencing a range of knock-on effects from [the congestion], John Redmond, executive vice president, Americas, at Menzies Aviation, told Air Cargo World . "For example, in Bogota, evening flights landing in the early hours of the next day are overlapping with early morning departures, which means we have become a 24-hour operation and need to staff this accordingly." Cargo companies have sought to navigate congestion by avoiding it altogether when possible, Ravn said. DSV also leverages its charter network to operate weekly flights to and from Latin America via Miami (MIA) and Huntsville (HSV). “Mitigation measures depend on countries and governmental regulations,” a spokesperson for German logistics provider DB Schenker told Air Cargo World . “Wherever possible, freight has been recovered to mitigate the import delays, which have strongly improved.” Cloudy short-term outlook While the long-term outlook for the region is positive, the short-term forecast is cloudier, according to Ravn. “Most of the important airports in the region are receiving investments, being private or governmental, which should enhance physical capacity, which ultimately will help to reduce congestion in the mid-long term,” he said. “There is no immediate relief in sight.” With its sizable market for perishable cargo movement, Latin America could see additional investment. Kale Logistics, for example, is piloting a cargo community system solution in Canada and South America , which may prove beneficial in a region where digitization has historically lagged. Cargo stakeholders have also continued to bolster Latin American operations through acquisitions in the past year, including Menzies Aviation, which acquired Chile-based Agunsa Aviation Services in April . Ongoing disruption in the Asia-Pacific region due to COVID-19 outbreaks has also continued to boost traffic in Latin America, as more stakeholders turn to near-sourcing to avoid China-based supply chains . In March, data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed a 22.7% year-over-year increase in international CTKs, compared to 2019 . The Air Cargo Tech Summit, the new airfreight logistics event presented by Air Cargo World , will take place LIVE in Miami from June 6-7. Learn more and register here. This story has been updated with additional comments from Menzies.

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