Acsa calls for 'open skies' for airfreight

A CALL by Airports Company of SA (Acsa) chairman Mashudu Ramano for an 'open skies' policy for airfreight in South Africa has been welcomed by the industry, but general opinion is that it will not affect existing scheduled and charter services to any extent. In a report tabled in Parliament last week, Ramano said: "Although 85% of all inbound and outbound cargo is accommodated in the belly of passenger aircraft, Acsa considers that no fully licensed and compliant operator should be prevented from introducing cargo flights to and from the country. Operators should, however, be compelled to dedicate more outbound capacity to SA freight destined to long-haul points." While leading figures in the airfreight industry welcomed the statement, it has been pointed out that current scheduled flights are meeting demands, and that a number of charter operations are working successfully. Several additional flights have been planned for the busy summer season. "I think Acsa is looking more at the heavy perishable demands from the Cape at this time of the year," said an industry source.