Christmas air deliveries hit by Covid

CHRISTMAS deliveries are likely to be delayed this year because of the pandemic’s impact on air travel, according to cargo experts.

The warning comes on the heels of the new “rule of six” limit on people meeting up, which threatens to outlaw many family gatherings over the festive season. The plunge in traveller numbers due to Covid restrictions has sent air freight rates soaring and slashed cargo capacity, according to international freight experts Flexport, as airlines cancel flights or switch to using smaller planes.

Another wave of Covid-19 restrictions will also see the price of personal protective equipment spike again, according to Flexport director David Wystrach, as some items are still travelling by air. Data collected by TAC

Index showed that although air freight rates are down from their May peak of $5.88 per kilo for the Hong KongEurope route, they are still higher than February’s prepandemic level of $2.52 per kilo, or than in any year pre2020.

Similarly, data from Seabury Consulting showed that global air cargo capacity was still 26pc lower than last year’s level in the fortnight to Aug 29.