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.”