Air freight capacity into South Africa is improving as more airlines return to normal operations after being grounded during the global pandemic.Jacob Pretorius is airfreight general manager for neutral cargo consolidator SACO CFR. He says carriers are increasingly adding more daily f lights into Johannesburg and Cape Town, addressing the major capacity constraints that have been the trend over the past two years.At the same time, says Pretorius, demand for airfreight space continues as sea freight remains under pressure due to the backlogs it has experienced in recent months. “The challenges experienced in the sea freight sector are creating increased demand for airfreight. And now we also have increased capacity available in the market due to airlines starting to add more f lights into South Africa,” he tells Freight News. “We should also start seeing more tourists visiting South Africa in the coming months now that the Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted by many countries around the world. This will create more belly space for cargo in airplanes and increase capacity even more.”Pretorius says the decision by South Africa to do away with its Covid-19 restrictions will benefit the air cargo sector.According to route developer Megan Ekermans, the SACO CFR team remains committed to building reliable and competitive import products to offer the market. “We have also been growing the operational team to ensure that we are able to offer the best service possible to our customers.”She says increased e-commerce presence in the market is also driving demand for more air freight.The sector, however, is not without its challenges, with the cost of fuel being at the top of the list. Pretorius agrees, saying: “We are seeing regular fuel surcharge increases. Jet fuel has doubled in 2022.” According to Ekermans, the conf lict between Russia and Ukraine has also had an impact and capacity on certain routes is tight as a result. “The slow global economic growth is another challenge we are dealing with, while many airports and airlines globally are still under pressure and are understaffed. This has an effect on the movement of cargo.”Pretorius says despite the challenges, volumes are increasing again. “There is recovery from the Durban f loods. At the same time, China has reopened and while the sea freight sector continues to face challenges, backlog shipments are moving via air.”Adds Ekermans: “The rest of 2022 will still see a lot of demand and the lack of available capacity. The cost of fuel will continue to rise until the war between Russia and Ukraine comes to an end. This means that even with added capacity, the rates will remain high for the rest of the year as things currently stand.”
