Mining sector keeps airfreight demand buoyant

Airlines moving cargo for the booming mining, oil and gas sectors in Africa have recorded strong growth in demand for airfreight services. Network Airline Services (NAS) general manager, Arnold Vosloo, said the resources boom and the drive to fuel public and private sector development on the continent had boosted trade between Europe, the Middle East, China and the US with Africa, increasing the demand for airfreight. “A greater exploitation of Africa’s resources has resulted in a boom in mining, oil and gas cargoes, which has resulted in an increase in aviation on the continent,” Vosloo said. NAS, the South African based general sales agent for Astral Aviation – a cargo airline based at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi – has a fleet of seven cargo aircraft, operating a combination of schedule and ad-hoc charter flights, to over 50 destinations in Africa as well as to London and Liege in Europe. “NAS has witnessed a steady growth of 15% in the intra- African sector for general and project cargoes in addition to 5% growth in perishables traffic from Nairobi to Europe,” Vosloo said. “In the past six months, we have experienced an increase in traffic from Johannesburg to key routes such as Mwanza, Pemba, Juba, Nairobi and Kigali.” Vosloo identifies Mozambique, Angola, Cameroon, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with Chad, as countries with promising future growth prospects. Astral Aviation uplifts in excess of 2 500 tons of cargo every month, translating to 30 000 tons in 2014, he added. “Astral participates in projects such as mining and currently operates the largest number of cargo flights to the gold mines in Western Tanzania. It is also involved in oil and gas and operates a bi-weekly scheduled service into Pemba in Mozambique and Mtwara in Tanzania,” Vosloo said. The airline has also experienced strong demand for its dedicated charters for aid and peace-keeping equipment and supplies into Somalia and South Sudan, he added. “Due to the conflict in South Sudan, Astral has been overwhelmed with aid and relief cargoes and participates in the uplifting of essential food supplies to remote regions in South Sudan,” he said. Vosloo said regular shipments of retail goods and motor vehicles also moved on the company’s dedicated codeshare B777 Freighter operated by Emirates Airlines on the Johannesburg to Nairobi route. INSERT & CAPTION NAS has witnessed a steady growth of 15% in the intra-African sector for general and project cargoes. – Arnold Vosloo