Air cargo industry downplays impact of flight cancellations

The air cargo industry is downplaying impacts of recent disruptions to European airlines’ passenger services caused by the sudden pickup in air travel demand, staff shortages and industrial action. Europe’s four biggest airport hubs for passenger and cargo traffic — Frankfurt (FRA), Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) and London Heathrow (LHR) — appear to be struggling to accommodate the surge in passengers, which has led to long queues and hundreds of flight cancellations, with British Airways’ schedules at LHR being particularly hard hit, according to industry stakeholders. Due to staff shortages, the airline has reduced its schedule by 10% — or about 8,000 round trips between March and October — mainly on domestic and European routes. British Airways could face flight chaos and delays of a different scale if Unite the Union, a British and Irish trade union, issues a strike call following a recent ballot of 16,000 staff in which 97% surveyed said they support possible industrial action over pay and working conditions. However, no action or formal vote has taken place. [caption id="attachment_69382" align="alignright" width="400"] Photo: British Airways[/caption] “If the strike does come about, long-haul routes could be affected, and this would clearly have implications for cargo,” one forwarder warned. Earlier this month, labor unions representing airport workers at CDG, France’s largest air hub for both passenger and cargo traffic, staged a one-day strike to demand a pay increase of 300 euros per month and better working conditions. That strike led to the cancellation of 25% of flights — around 100 in total — of which 85 were Air France KLM, the vast majority flying European routes. Unions are poised to step up their protest at CDG on July 1, as negotiations between unions and employers continue to stall. AMS, labor unions in agreement At AMS, the scene of passenger flight disruptions over the last month due to severe personnel shortages, the airport and labor unions have reached a wage agreement. “Despite the recent disruptions at CDG and AMS, our cargo operation has hardly suffered. We have always been able to manage adequately for the best possible result,” an Air France KLM Cargo spokesperson said. Bollore Logistics, on the other hand, does "not foresee a further significant capacity squeeze as most of the flight cancellations do not concern long-haul flights,” Vice President of Airfreight Europe Philippe de Crecy said. Meanwhile, Lufthansa’s subsidiary carrier, Eurowings, already has canceled around 1,000 flights in July. “The cancellations are mainly on European routes and the impact on cargo is likely to be negligible as other flights are available on the same route, or shipments can be handled via Road Feeder Services,” a spokesperson said. “Speaking of Eurowings, no cargo is transported within Europe on its flights.” Preparing for summer travel As for the view from ground handlers, Fraport AG is engaged in “intensive exchange” with its partners at FRA to be best prepared for summer traffic and to ensure stable operations at the German gateway during peak times, said Max Philipp Conrady, vice president of cargo development at Fraport. [caption id="attachment_57065440" align="alignright" width="533"] Terminal 2 at FRA. Photo/FRA[/caption] “Nevertheless, we cannot rule out that extended wait times for passengers in the terminals and delays in cargo operations may occur over the coming weeks, especially during peak traffic hours,” Conrady said. “The pre-planned flight cancellations by airlines mostly affect connections within Germany or other short-haul connections, so the effect on cargo tonnage could almost go unnoticed,” he said. Conrady further added that airfreight and airmail at FRA slowed in May, as in previous months , with tonnage dropping by 15% year over year. Compared with 2019, cargo volumes in May dropped by 6.5%. “This was largely due to airspace restrictions related to the war in Ukraine and the extensive anti-COVID measures in China ,” he said.

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