New airfreight strategy on the cards

Work on a specialised
airfreight strategy is
set to commence in
coming months with the
Department of Transport
(DoT) expecting to see new
policies in place within the
next five years.
Speaking at the Transport
Forum in Woodmead last
week, Anwar Gany, chief
director: civil aviation in the
DoT, said a team had been
appointed to draft the
new strategy.
“There is no doubt that
this strategy is important to
the DoT. A team will start
work in the next couple of
months. It is expected to be
a long process and we don’t
expect to see an outcome
soon – in fact, we are
looking at it over the next
three years.”
He said this strategy
would then be used to draft
the new policies around
airfreight in the country.
He said one aspect
that would definitely be
addressed was South
Africa’s lack of cargo
aircraft and movement
of freight.
“Some 98% of cargo is
being moved in and out
of the country by foreign
carriers. Certainly we
can move it with our own
capacity and we need to
make provision for it.”
According to Professor
Jackie Walters, who heads
up the University of
Johannesburg’s Transport
Department and Supply
Chain Management,
research has shown that
some 88% of cargo coming
into OR Tambo International
Airport is moved as belly
freight while only about
12% is on scheduled and
unscheduled freight carriers.
“This has possibly played
a role in the lack of cargo
aircraft in the country and
the reason why we have not
been focusing on it enough.
Addressing this is however
crucial as we should
be moving more cargo
ourselves rather than relying
on foreign airlines.”