Europe-bound air cargo traffic from UAE at standstill

Air cargo movement in the UAE and the Middle East has been affected seriously by the volcanic ash cloud spreading across northern Europe, forcing several companies to switch to alternative modes of transport in order to avoid further delays.

Most cargo operations from the UAE and the Middle East to Europe have been cancelled. Companies told Emirates Business yesterday that with flights being cancelled, no alternative arrangements have been made yet. The ash cloud that has turned most of northern Europe into a no-fly zone, has hurt the prices of airline stocks, paralysed air cargo delivery and disrupted business and leisure travel.

Grounded air cargo flights have halted delivery of items such as microchips, flowers and mail. Europe's largest mail and express delivery company, Deutsche Post DHL said it was switching to road transport wherever possible.

Companies in the UAE continue to accept shipments but were not willing to promise a delivery date. Etihad Crystal Cargo said it currently has put about 600 tonnes of cargo in storage and two dedicated cargo flights to Europe have been cancelled.

"Currently, we have 600 tonnes of cargo being stored at Abu Dhabi International Airport – all are non-perishables like garments, textiles and electronics. We are not taking any more cargo that is bound for Europe. We have cancelled two cargo-only flights that were bound for Frankfurt-Hahn and Tripoli/Milan," said a statement from the airline.

Federal Express (Fedex) said it was not accepting any Europe-bound freight shipments for the time being. "Due to the closure of major airports within Europe, effective immediately, FedEx Express has announced it is not accepting deferred international freight shipments bound for Europe. This embargo does not affect freight shipments to and from other countries and applies only to Europe," said a statement.

However, in Dubai, Fedex continued to receive packages but was unwilling to give any guarantee as to when these would be delivered. "We continue to receive packages, but we cannot guarantee when it will be delivered. All flights to Europe have been cancelled," said a FedEx call centre official.

FedEx continues to monitor the situation closely and is positioning its operations to resume services as soon as major airports in Europe open. FedEx Express is trucking shipments within Europe, the statement said.

Similarly, United Parcel Service (UPS) too said that it can collect packages but both its flights to Europe have been cancelled for the time being. A senior TNT official said no alternate arrangements for cargo movement have been made.

Meanwhile, reports said [some opertors were looking at] sea cargo as an option for longer deliveries but not for perishables such as flowers. Shipping analysts though said it would likely take at least several more days before firms started re-booking by sea.

Pharmaceutical supplies in particular are often transported by air, but experts said there were sufficient stocks so there would be no serious shortages as of now.

Bloomberg quoted Norman Black, a spokesman for UPS, as saying that some of its planes were stuck in Cologne, Germany, because the airport closed after they flew there from the US. FedEx flew aircraft into its hub at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, which was open for landings today, said the agency quoting Sally Davenport, a spokeswoman. Both cargo companies were using trucks instead of aircraft to move packages in countries across Europe.

"We have moved to a contingency ground operation and we're trying to move as much of that volume as we can by ground to keep it going," Black said in an interview. Until flight restrictions end, "we're just going to have to wait like everyone else".

US air carriers, including cargo companies like FedEx, operate about 340 flights a day to and from Europe. Some 280 flights were cancelled on Friday and that number was expected to rise, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association said, after a total of 165 flights to or from Europe were cancelled by US-based carriers on Thursday.

The disruption is costing airlines more than $200 million (Dh734.6m) a day, air industry body International Air Transport Association has estimated. Fraport, which operates Germany's main airport in Frankfurt, says its initial loss estimate is between €2.5m (Dh12.39m) and €3m per day. (With inputs from agencies)