Regulators warm up to cargo on pax aircraft

Regulatory authorities in the U.S. may be warming up to the strategy pivot many airlines are taking to reconfigure passenger aircraft to carry cargo on maindecks to make up cargo capacity lost with widespread flight cancellations. Last week, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) and International Air Transportation Association ( IATA ) each released notices outlining safety and risk assessment practices related to the utilization of passenger aircraft configured for the carriage of cargo and mail. Read more on the FAA and IATA notifications here . The new announcements follow the European Agency Safety Agency’s ( EASA’s ) own move at the beginning of April easing airworthiness and certification requirements for operators transporting cargo in the cabins of passenger aircraft. While the FAA documents do not grant full regulatory approval to the practice, the Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) notice from the FAA does allow for the preliminary storage of cargo in existing passenger storage locations, like overhead bins, closets and under-seat stowage. Both documents also serve to notify companies that regulators are exploring the full carriage of cargo in cabin holds and main deck areas, which could bode well for airlines that have yet to launch these operations, like American Airlines . “We are interested in being able to use every bit of space that we possibly can,” said Chris Isaac, managing director for cargo revenue at American Airlines. The trick, he noted, is that airlines will have to work around size and weight requirements, as well as the loading processes and procedures to put cargo in the cabin of passenger aircraft. While multiple, large units can be easily loaded into belly-hold space, loading goods into passenger compartments requires taking one box at a time and running up and down the aisle to stow goods in different areas, Isaac explained. Air Canada already moved earlier this month to expand its cargo capacity during the COVID-19 crisis by removing seats from the passenger cabins of three 777-300ERs. Two aircraft are already flying in this configuration and the third will be completed soon. Since March 22, Air Canada has operated more than 40 cargo-only flights on its passenger 777s and 787s. China Southern and China Eastern have also operated empty passenger aircraft for the carriage of cargo. Since March 31, China Eastern has modified a few of its 777-300 and A330-200 aircraft by removing some passenger seats to create more space for cargo. China Southern Vice President of Cargo Dezhi Zhang, who spoke at Cargo Facts Asia 2020, hosted by our sister publication, Cargo Facts , explained his company’s strategy also leveraging passenger aircraft for cargo-only flights. “From the end of March to April 18, we have flown 92 cargo-only flights using passenger aircraft,” said Zhang. “Meanwhile we have modified two A330s to use as freighters that we expect to use [for those operations] through to the end of the first half of this year.” Even if carriers can reconfigure passenger aircraft to remove seats, there may also be restrictions on what goods, like dangerous and hazardous goods, can be transported on the main decks of aircraft. These will require further actionable rules from regulators like the FAA, which is already bogged down with work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7mlxXFiM0U&feature=youtu.be

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