‘Quiet’ season for SA airfreight industry

Although the airlines have been smiling about the increased passenger demand due to the World Cup in SA, it has only had a moderate effect on air cargo volumes, according to Chris Zweigenthal, CEO of the Airlines Association of SA. On the passenger side, it has not only changed the numbers, but has altered the areas from which demand has come. “The aviation industry has had to effectively respond to these changes,” he added. But the same can’t be said of air cargo, which has really been quiet despite the World Cup. However, that’s a fairly normal situation at this time of the year, according to Zweigenthal, with June and July (in the southern hemisphere winter) generally not a time of high airfreight demand. The next increase in cargo movement is expected in the pre- Christmas period, when people start stocking up in anticipation of the increased activity during the festive season. Garry Marshall, MD of Express Air Services (EAS) expressed similar sentiments. Although some airfreight agents had significant increases in tonnage directly connected to the World Cup, the demand Win the express/courier segment of the market did not record any major change.