King Shaka up to speed – but cargo stays away

The cargo operation at
Durban’s King Shaka
International Airport (KSIA)
is now running smoothly,
according to airport users,
but there is still an utter
dearth of international
flights.
Benjy Balgo, Röhlig
Grindrod’s operations
manager at KSIA, told FTW
that his company’s domestic
cargo was moving very well.
“We use mostly Emirates
– the sole international
operator from the airport
– for international cargo,
and they are excellent,” he
added. “Other international
consignments that are
not convenient through
Emirates we transport via
Johannesburg airport.”
Questioned about growth
in volumes through KSIA,
Balgo reckoned that there had
been no growth.
“Indeed,” he said, “I think
volumes have dropped. But
the international scene is not
too hot at the moment, and I
think that has played a main
role in this downturn.”
Rajen Chetty, who handles
the airfreight at Kuehne +
Nagel in Durban, agreed with
Balgo’s market assessment.
“I haven’t found any
problems recently on
domestic airfreight,” he said.
“On the international side,
of course, we use Emirates,
which we support a lot, but
there should be other carriers
coming in soon. I’ve heard,
for example, that Etihad
Airways is thinking about it.”
This was confirmed by
Petr Cizek, GM of Etihad
cargo.
“We sent a delegation
to Durban for a look at
the airport, but there’s
nothing decided yet. Etihad
is concentrating on the
Johannesburg and Cape Town
routes at the moment, and
there is a shortage of aircraft.
“But we’ll look at Durban
again once everything
stabilises.”