European and Russian cargo carriers facing disruptions around key east-west corridors

The current conflict in Ukraine continues to hit commercial aviation operations worldwide, creating more air cargo and supply chain disruptions.

After the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Canada closed their airspace to Russian planes, Russia announced that it would close its airspace to 36 countries as a response. Also, all EU-based lessors have until the end of March to terminate their lease agreements with Russian airlines as part of the sanctions package imposed by the EU.

The impact on commercial carriers is significant, especially for those airlines using the Siberian corridor between Europe and East Asia. Similarly, Russian cargo airlines such as Volga-Dnepr or AirBridgeCargo rely heavily on European airspace to reach destinations in North America. The only exception to this ban will be made for aircraft carrying humanitarian aid.

Major European combination carriers such as KLM, Finnair, Air France and Lufthansa have cancelled all cargo flights to Asia that cross Russian airspace. Large Asian and Middle Eastern carriers such as China Airlines, Emirates and Qatar Airways are still using Russian airspace and their operations are not likely to be impacted. Meanwhile, Japanese and Korean carriers Nippon Airways (ANA) and Korean Air are waiting to see if their governments restrict the ability to overfly Russia.

Nevertheless, some cargo carriers have already announced fuel surcharges on their cargo flights due to the increase in operational costs. Brent crude oil just reached $127 per barrel which means that air freight rates are going to rise again. The Middle Eastern carriers and airports are the most likely to benefit from the sudden airspace closure, filling that capacity gap left by Russian and European carriers. Some shippers are looking into other multimodal options such as sea-air or rail freight since we are going to see intensified demand.

Cargo Facts Consulting has analyzed the current scheduled cargo routes impacted by the recent ban between Europe and Russia. The dashboard below shows all scheduled flight routes filed by either Russian or European cargo carriers that cross either EU or Russian airspace, a total of forty-two. Clicking on a single carrier will list the details of those routes impacted.

Source: CH Aviation, as of March 08, 2022

Cargolux and its Italian subsidiary are taking the biggest hit with approximately 25% of their routes from Luxembourg being impacted by the ban. Cargolux continues to operate all their Far East flights from Europe, avoiding Russian airspace, therefore adding between one and three hours to their usual block time. Reaching Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing from Luxembourg will add between 120 and 150 minutes while destinations like Shanghai or Hong Kong will be reached 70 to 100 minutes later.

This situation is continually evolving, and the United States joined Europe and other nations in closing its airspace to Russian operators late last week. FedEx and UPS had already suspended shipments to Russia and the only scheduled cargo carrier impacted by the US ban is AirBridgeCargo, with weekly flights between Moscow and Chicago.

Russian's aviation industry is entering an unprecedented crisis while they battle to keep hold of planes. The two largest airlines in the country, Aeroflot and S7 announced they have canceled all international flights so they stop foreign governments from seizing their airplanes. Russia has not yet announced the closure of its airspace to U.S. carriers and there is no clarity on how long the sanctions from the EU, UK, US and other authorities would remain in place.

European and Russian cargo carriers facing disruptions around key east-west corridors

Express Air Cargo to double fleet with 737-800Fs

Teleport, ExFreight expand digital booking capabilities

Related Posts

June brings stability, not relief

May freighter capacity extends April’s higher operating level

Pressure eases, rates hold firm

Teleport, ExFreight expand digital booking capabilities

Cargo Facts Free Newsletters

Cargo Facts Connect Podcast

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password