EDITOR’S
WELCOME
MISSION
STATEMENT
ALI comes from the
same team responsible
for the well-established
titles of Ground Handling
International and Ramp
Equipment News. As
such, it builds on over
20 years of industry
experience and, with
a comprehensive and
skilled team of writers
based in both Europe
and the US, aims to bring
the reader up to date
with the world of air
transportation.
It’s an ill wind…
For once, the word “welcome” seems rather at odds with the content of
the page…
Yes, it’s that COVID-19 topic again, rearing its ugly microbial head.
As a British Editor whose Inbox was filled with Brexit news for close on
three and a half years, the signing of the exit strategy came as a huge relief.
Unfortunately, he was not let off the hook so quickly, since its vacuum was
then rapidly filled by the coronavirus.
Doom, gloom and despondency probably best summarises the effects of
this rather malignant strain of bacteria. Those who’ve succumbed have either
had a hard time of it or have died; while some have treated it like the plague
and shunned fellow beings. The findings of medical bodies, which suggest
that many people are carriers yet don’t even know that they have the virus,
has merely added fuel to the flames. Meanwhile, other sections of society have
all but ignored its presence - on that score, the US President and that of Brazil
are, one feels, likely to go down in history alongside Roman emperor Nero
when this malaise finally abates.
The cargo chain, if in the doldrums before the close of 2019, has been
anything but since. Medical aid has topped the list of necessary cargo and
for forwarders, shippers and carriers, business has been brisk. This has been
especially evident amongst those far-sighted enough to have reduced the
paperwork element within their operation. However, most recently, the
conundrum of dropping demand coupled with insufficient capacity has
unsettled the sector.
Sadly, there have also been those within the business who have looked to
profiteer from the unusual status quo; to that end, freight rates out of China
have hit some eye-watering highs.
Pressing passenger aircraft into the cargo chain has helped matters to
an extent and there has been innovation in this area, making it easier for
fuselages that once contained seats to accommodate less fractious loads. And
whilst carriers have been hell-bent on soaking up the huge demand for cargo,
concomitantly has come the realisation that the freight chain, in much the
same way as the airport, is looking likely to change forever. Shoppers have
self-isolated and have eschewed bricks and mortar; and those ordering online
have probably not been fazed by the BBC’s prediction of an US$8.8trn cost to
the global economy arising from COVID-19.
E-commerce has thus emerged the lifeline – and the winner – in this
strange, surreal scenario.
Alwyn Brice, Editor
www.airlogisticsinternational.com June 2020 5
/www.airlogisticsinternational.com