PVG, SHA, SZX face flight cancellations due to omicron outbreaks

Airports in Shanghai and Shenzhen (SZX) are facing mass flight cancellations as surging omicron variant outbreaks in the cities have led to local governments enforcing restrictions, disrupting warehouse, cargo and flight operations. [caption id="attachment_96703" align="alignright" width="450"] Cargo moving through PACTL’s Shanghai (PVG) facility. Photo/Royal Media[/caption] The city of Shenzhen will be closed until March 20 except for essential services, according to a March 14 statement from SEKO Logistics. Air exports are still being processed but are facing delays as staff are subject to working from home. Meanwhile, trucks are barred from entering and exiting the city, resulting in only local cargo leaving SZX. The statement further noted that there may be negative impacts on airfreight shipments due to the trucking restrictions for those picking up cargo from outside the city or from a locked-down area. The SZX air cargo terminal is operating as usual, although airfreight operations delays are expected as well as factories suspending production, according to a March 14 advisory from Crane Worldwide Logistics. Rates to remain ‘volatile’ “As much as [the closures] don’t impact freighters directly, it will have a big impact as needed passenger flights which were carrying cargo are diverted now, [meaning] less capacity,” Benno Forster, senior vice president and head of operations and procurement for airfreight, Americas, at DB Schenker, told Air Cargo World . “Since there is an additional shortage on space, I expect that rates [will] stay very volatile.” Due to the restrictions DB Schenker will have to divert cargo, however, Forster was unable to name specific airports as the situation is changing daily. He further noted that DB Schenker’s own-controlled flight operations allow the forwarder to continue operating as normal. While flight terminals are still operational, there have been many flight cancellations. Around 665 arrivals at SZX have been cancelled from March 14 to 16, according to flight tracking software. Destinations include Beijing (PEK), Wuxi (WUX), Hangzhou (HGH), among others. SZX posted roughly 532 cancelled departures. Restrictions in Shanghai are less severe, with all SEKO warehouses operating normally, according to the statement. However, there may be delays for inbound shipments after flights land in other cities due to customs clearance and bonded transfer from other airports to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG). All inbound passenger flights from Chinese carriers are being diverted to other airports, however the situation remains unclear for non-local carriers. Meanwhile, any cargo delivered to Nanjing Airport (NKG) from Shanghai must be disinfected, and trucks moving in and out of the city must be accompanied by negative COVID-19 tests, SEKO reported. From March 14 through March 17, 546 arrivals and 521 departures at PVG have been cancelled, while 511 arrivals and 485 departures were cancelled at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), according to flight tracking software. Airfreight operations in the country were also disrupted in January, following an omicron outbreak among Cathay Pacific air crews . Later in the month the Hong Kong government announced country-specific travel bans from eight countries, which further constrained capacity in the region . In turn, severely reduced capacity paired with Lunar New Year airfreight demand led to rising rates to and from the Asia-Pacific region . 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.

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