DAS Air exit creates chaos on Lagos route

CLIVE EMDON
DECEMBER WAS a nightmare month for shippers moving cargo on the Johannesburg – Lagos route. Goods had to be rerouted via Europe as rates climbed by over 200% on occasions, says Vernon Lines, MD of Consolidation and Wholesale Cargo. The situation has returned to normal with Virgin Nigeria and South African Airways providing capacity, but freight rates have gone up. In Africa’s airfreight “peak season”, DAS Air ceased operating, he said. “This took 60 tons of cargo aircraft capacity per week out of the equation.” And he had 35 tons of freight destined for Lagos and nearly 18 tons for Luanda. “Lagos and Luanda were particularly badly affected. We haven’t known these sorts of backlogs for many years. Hopefully airlines servicing Africa will take note of the problems and rectify them.” He said airlines in some instances were offering departure dates two weeks in advance. “This created a huge void which in turn caused enormous confusion and irritation.” In order to meet his customer’s demands, Lines moved cargo to Lagos via Europe. “This proved to be a superb alternative until the European-based airlines put their own embargoes on the route and refused to take any big pieces. “Luanda was not a lot better. Shipments that were not left behind were split by the airlines and in some instances shipments were split over three flights.” Other traditionally busy African routes for his company which include Harare, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Entebbe, Accra and Mauritius were served with little or no disruption, he added, although in some instances a premium had to be paid in order to get cargo to the destination on time.