More than 1,800 flights canceled at PVG, SHA due to omicron surge

More than 1,800 flights to and from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) have been canceled due to the government-imposed city lockdown and restrictions put into place on Monday due to a surge in cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19, further disrupting cargo, warehouse and flight operations. There will be two phases of lockdown over the next nine days, according to today’s Shanghai Advisory from Scan Global Logistics. The first will be in Pudong, Punan and nearby areas from March 25 until April 1 at 5 a.m.. The second phase will be implemented April 1 through April 5 in Puxi. Although restrictions will be subject to weekdays in specific areas, significant short-term disruptions to airfreight operations are expected. [caption id="attachment_96132" align="alignright" width="338"] Photo: ANA[/caption] The lockdown already has prompted a significant number of flight cancellations between March 28 and March 31. Around 490 PVG arrivals have been canceled so far from airports like Nanning (NNG), Auckland (AKL) and Zhengzhou (CGO), among others, according to flight tracking software. PVG posted roughly 479 cancelled departures from March 28 through March 31. At SHA, there have been around 455 cancelled departures and 467 cancelled arrivals, according to flight tracking software. Destinations include Beijing (PEK), Wuhan (WUH), Xiamen (XMN) and more. While many flights are still scheduled, forwarders anticipate that there may be additional cancellations over the next couple of days. In fact, forwarder Dimerco noted that Cargolux has already begun cancelling flights into PVG. Japan-based ANA Cargo also notified customers that flights from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) and Kansai International Airport (KIX) to PVG have been suspended due to the citywide lockdown, according to a notice today. However, neighboring airports in China remain open, allowing forwarders to divert cargo when necessary, Scan Global reported. “As a contingency measure, we are working on utilizing alternative solutions such as CGO to move cargo from Eastern China directly,” DSV said in today’s statement. “Larger consignments can be dispatched directly, while smaller consignments will be consolidated in Kunshan and then dispatched. We are also scouting for additional capacities out of CGO and other airports, and it is expected that airfreight rates will reach even higher levels.” SEKO Logistics also suggested Qingdao (TAO) and Beijing (PEK) as alternative gateways. Greater lockdown impact Although warehouse operations are suspended as employees are subject to lockdown, airfreight terminals are operating as normal, according to a March 28 statement from PVG-based terminal operator Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal Co. Ltd. (PACTL). However, transportation of shipments between export warehouses and terminals currently is not possible and authorities are in the process of administering special permits that will allow drivers to enter the airport with a valid 48-hour nucleic acid test, DSV reported today. Still, options remain limited, the forwarder added. Airport imports are still being processed at PVG, however the lack of trucking services will result in additional delays, DSV said. All highways connecting Pudong to adjacent areas are closed, with some trucks being blocked from delivering shipments into the city, which may impact or delay air cargo deliveries to the airport, Dimerco reported. Dimerco further reported that customs data is sent via EDI transfer and will not be impacted by the lockdown. Rates to skyrocket Forwarder SEKO Logistics already noted a sharp increase in airfreight rates, according to the latest COVID-19 impact statement. The forwarder added they had already received some “sky-high” offers for shipments to Europe. Capacity issues stemming from the lockdown, as well as elevated trucking costs, are to be further expected in the weeks to come, SEKO added. Cities in China have been struggling with omicron outbreaks since the start of the year. Earlier this month airports in Shanghai and Shenzhen (SZX) faced more than 3,000 flight cancellations due to COVID-19 outbreaks in those cities, leading to government-enforced restrictions. Paired with rising fuel costs, airfreight rates on the Shanghai-North America trade lane spiked by more than 40% in March . In January an omicron outbreak among Cathay Pacific air crews , paired with country-specific bans in Hong Kong (HKG), also impacted air cargo operations, resulting in severely reduced capacity . 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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