The war in Ukraine, sanctions, and the resulting closure of airspace are impacting the air freight market. Globally, air cargo capacity has decreased by approximately 20 percent. In response to this situation, DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics will launch an additional weekly charter flight on the Frankfurt-Shanghai route over the next three weeks.
The charter aircraft will operate between Europe and Asia once a week, carrying approximately 100 tons of cargo per flight. “We are closely monitoring the development of the situation and have reacted very quickly to the current capacity bottleneck on the route between Shanghai and Frankfurt. This allows us to provide our customers with stable and reliable services in these challenging times,” says Timo Stroh, Head of Global Air Freight at DACHSER.
Response to air traffic disruptions
Currently, there are issues with air freight capacity on the Frankfurt-Shanghai route. “The capacity situation of our network at the main airports in Hong Kong and Shanghai, as well as in Frankfurt, which is our European gateway to Asia, is stable,” emphasizes Timo Stroh. Nevertheless, disruptions at Hong Kong airport related to coronavirus outbreaks may still occur.
The suspension of certain flights and the closure of airspace due to sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine have led to longer transit times and an overall reduction in air freight capacity. The situation is also exacerbated by rising oil prices, yet regular air connections within the DACHSER network, as well as charter flights for customers between Europe and Asia, are mostly proceeding according to plan. “Despite dynamic changes and their impact on the transport and logistics market, the performance of our air network remains stable and resilient to external factors,” notes the Head of Global Air Freight at DACHSER.
Source: Dachser