Inbound cargo processing by one of the ground-handling service providers at OR Tambo International Airport (Ortia) has descended into a state of disrepair, with an international freight forwarder prominently mentioning the general sales agent (GSA) involved.
According to an anonymous source the disorganised chaos has resulted in “cargo being scattered all over the show”.
The source said it had started before the lockdown almost six weeks ago and despite attempts by the freight forwarder to talk to the GSA, incoming cargo at Ortia remained in a “bad state.
“I can show you pictures of what it looks like. Boxes are lying around everywhere and we simply can’t get our cargo through fast enough. It has caused a major backlog and something has to be done about it.”
The photographs subsequently sent through clearly shows opened boxes with cargo meant to fight the coronovirus spilled across the tarmac.
The source identified the GSA as Aero-Link, the company responsible for handling cargo flown in by Ethiopian Airlines – “one of the last airlines still steadily delivering cargo to the airport”, the source said.
The informant added that, on behalf of their clients, they had sought an official statement from the handling agent, but to no avail.
At the time this post was generated for Freight News, Aero-Link managing director Jeremy Anandkumar had not yet responded to attempts to contact him.
The company’s phone also remained unanswered.