The politics of turmoil: Overcoming global supply chain disruption

Belgium bounces back

On the morning of March 22, 2016, at 07:58 local time, two explosions, moments apart, tore apart the check-in area of Brussels Airport passenger terminal, while a third detonated inside a crowded metro train station. The coordinated bombings, supported again by ISIS, claimed the lives of 32 victims and seriously injured hundreds more. Over the following month, hundreds of passenger flights were cancelled as the airport struggled to get back on its feet.

On the day of the attack, the airport tweeted: “There are no cargo flights, only empty flights from international carriers are admitted,” but noted that, “the BRUcargo zone landside is accessible.” The following day, the airport announced there would be no passenger flights, however cargo flights were already under way. The embargo on passenger flights was then extended through the weekend, then into the following week, then into April.

By the end of that month, the passenger count fell 46.5 percent, with transit passenger numbers collapsing by 98.8 percent. As expected, belly cargo fell by 39.1 percent, as carriers re-routed or cancelled flights. But amid these dismal numbers, freighter cargo bucked the trend, jumping 29.8 percent. This significant disparity might suggest that air cargo forwarders and carriers are either remarkably resilient or more immune to disruptions.

In reality, location played a major role in the bombings’ aftermath. Cargo operations at the Brussels Airport lie approximately 2.5 kilometers northwest of where the terrorists struck. Damage was limited to an area well removed from freight facilities, allowing cargo operations to resume as soon as flights were cleared for takeoff. “Within days, it was back to business as usual,” explained Steven Polmans, head of cargo sales and marketing at Brussels Airport. “Most airlines also resumed operations again within weeks of the attacks.”