Outdated bilaterals cost freighter airlines a mint

Royalty payments hit hard ALAN PEAT OUT OF date bilateral aviation agreements which make no provision for cargo airlines are seriously hampering growth of the industry in SA, according to Pat Corbin, director of African International Air, and a lack of available funding is restricting the Department of Transport’s efforts to re-negotiate them. “A lot of the bilaterals need to be updated,” he told FTW, because some are 10-15 years old, and were written at a time when the political climate was totally different. “They were primarily aimed at scheduled air services, so the ad hoc cargo carriers are just not provided for.” This is costing the freighter airlines a mint, because – where these old bilaterals are in place - non-scheduled operators which get landing clearance from other countries’ aviation authorities are frequently charged royalty payments of up to US$1 a kilogram. “This,” said Corbin, “can cost you over US$40 000 when you’re using the likes of a DC8 freighter.” And that’s if you actually get the landing rights you are seeking, he added. One recent case involving his company was in Madagascar. “The authorities there very politely informed us in writing that they could do very little for us until the bilateral with SA was re-written – and freighters were included,” said Corbin. “They granted us three freighter landings up to the end of May, when we actually needed two flights a week to fulfil the contract.” There’s a similar problem with landing rights in Angola. “In the 90s, when the bilateral was signed, SAA didn’t want in to African airfreight, and so made no such submission to the bilateral talks,” Corbin said. “Now they, like many of the rest of us, want into that business, but can’t do anything about Angola until the bilateral is rewritten.” A similar situation exists in most other African countries, Corbin added, which is the main reason why SAA has no real freighter service into the continent. And it’s not just in Africa. “The same problem arises in South America, certain parts of the Far East and Europe,” said Corbin. “We’ve got to urgently address this issue, but the DoT says it just hasn’t got the budget to do anything about it.”