CT airfreight capacity under strain

The Cape Town airfreight market is straining under a lack of capacity following a recent decision by SAA to stop direct daily flights from the city to London. “Capacity is a major issue at present,” said Marius Small of Lonrho Logistics. He told FTW that they were at present having to fly freight to London via Johannesburg. “At this stage it does not have a cost implication but direct flights are always preferable especially for the perishable market.” Currently there is only one flight a day from Cape Town to London with British Airways. “We are however very optimistic that the challenges we are facing at the moment will be addressed when British Airways launches a second daily flight in October,” said Small. “Virgin Airways will also be introducing a new service between Cape Town and London during October which will add further much-needed capacity.” While London at present can be reached with other airlines such as Emirates and Qatar from Cape Town it is not really favoured as it is via other destinations. “Many of our perishable clients are not really in favour of flying their products via several destinations and want the direct option,” said Small. “From Cape Town we need at least two flights a day into London to satisfy the market demand.” CAPTION Second daily CT flight on the cards this month.