Airmenzies International has big plans for 2022 – a year they predict will be one of recover y.According to Milton French, VP South Africa, plans are under way to move the company’s operations to purpose-built warehouses and offices. “These will be in the same vicinity as where we are currently located. This development will see us start to handle our own off-airport degroup facility for import airfreight.”The company is also set to extend and build on its newly initiated perishable division, with plans to increase fridge and freezer capacity in the next few months.“There is still a lot of uncertainty in the market due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, but we are positive that 2022 will be a year of recovery,” French told Freight News. “Last year was not easy. For every step we took forward, we had to take two steps back. There is no denying that the market is still uncertain on the way forward, but we do see several positive developments and are gearing our business to ensure we are ready for the recovery.”He said the industry continued to face the challenge of f light cancellations by airlines and quoted rates per f light. “The rates being quoted have a very short validity period, meaning we have to check and check again before and after booking any airfreight. At the same time, airlines are charging for no-show cargo. These are tough times we are operating in at present.”According to French, airline service levels have also dropped substantially due to the challenges faced on their side, such as being short-staffed or due to staff having to work from home due to Covid.“The reality is that the airfreight sector faces real uncertainty – will grounded airlines f ly again, when will they take to the skies, will rotations and capacity increase? These are all questions we have no answers to at present.”French said additional capacity was desperately needed to soften the current rates to and from South Africa in order to increase opportunities for shippers.“Airline rates have increased due to the diminishing capacity and the high demand for that capacity,” he explained. “Flight cancellations without prior warning come with significant impact, especially where perishable cargo is concerned. The ability to find and rebook space at very short notice is limited.”He said one particular challenge seen recently was that of airlines using the Covid card to stall the claims process, with the result that some claims had now been outstanding for two years and longer.“Cargo not f lying as booked from origin due to these ongoing cancellations often has a snowball effect, meaning that in many cases the cargo misses the necessary connections to get to the final destination on time,” he said. “All in all the quote, booking and hand-in process has become tedious and time-consuming, affecting service levels. This has been further impacted by the lack of access to OR Tambo International Airport’s foreign airline terminals. It has become a nightmare, with vehicles standing for lengthy periods of time to gain access, then waiting for service to off load or collect cargo.“These are not easy times, and while we are optimistic that our industry will recover in 2022, we know that it will still be a challenging year in many respects. We are certainly positive in that we continue to see volumes increasing due to the challenges being experienced in the sea freight sector. It is especially notable if one starts looking at the size and types of commodities now moving on airfreight.”
