WORLD ANALYSIS
between Korea and Japan. at said, the Australian and
New Zealand domestic travel markets are experiencing
generally so er demand and reduced ight volumes, he
continues, which impacted handlers’ performance last
year.
Despite all the challenges, Raj Andrade, Chief
Commercial O cer of Air India SATS, outlines the
region’s promise. “More than half of all new passengers
in the next 20 years are expected to come from the
APAC region, predominantly accounted for by India and
China,” he asserts.
Challenging times
Wilson Kwong, CEO of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals,
highlights the obvious impact of the continuing trade
war between the US and China on tra c between
these countries. “ e removal of some of these tari s is
welcomed, and we remain hopeful that tensions will ease
throughout 2020. Meanwhile, there is evidence of some
manufacturing shi ing from China to countries such
as Vietnam, in order to circumvent tari s on Chinese
imports. Some of this tra c will continue to route via
Hong Kong, which is the major global gateway for Asia.”
Key implicates various global issues, from uncertainty
over Brexit, to the grounding of the B737 MAX and
ongoing social unrest in Hong Kong as the most
challenging factors in 2019. “ e US – China trade war
is in icting the most damage to the global economy,”
he concurs, “but more locally, we are hopeful that the
trade pressure between Japan and South Korea will
recover soon, as this is impacting the Asia Paci c region
in particular.” Kwong advises that the aforementioned
disturbances in Hong Kong did not have a major impact
on Hactl’s throughput. “ e e ect, mostly con ned to
belly cargo, was short-term mainly due to delays and
reductions in ights. We were able to continue moving
cargo without major delays,” he relates. e overall
air cargo downturn of 2019 did a ect Hactl and its
customers, however, Kwong admits. “ at said, Hactl
has successfully mitigated much of the impact through
increasing e-commerce activity, targeting specialised
cargo such as perishables and outsized.”
Sinclair a rms that the cargo volume drop was the
single biggest challenge of 2019 from BFS’ perspective,
along with airport infrastructure limitations, which have
meant more remote operations. “We expect a fairly at
year for 2020,” he notes of the freight market – although
he adds that IATA has predicted a moderate recovery in
cargo tra c of 2.2% this year.
For Rutherford, the depressed domestic passenger
tra c in Australia and New Zealand was most
problematic. “ e cessation of Jetstar’s turboprop
operations in New Zealand impacted Swissport’s business
and resulted in the closure of operations in some regional
locations; however, the international market remains
strong. At a time where volumes are declining, further
consolidation of ground handling is an opportunity for
airlines to reduce cost,” he enthuses. Japan’s dry labour
market is less cause for optimism, however, and he also
observes increasing labour costs in Korea.
Goovaerts ags up the ongoing challenge of
Positive thinking
Continuing down this optimistic route,
Andrade believes that the air cargo
industry in India will see major boost.
“ e Government seeks to make India
among the top ve air freight markets
by 2025, as well as creating air transport
shipment hubs at all major airports over
the next six years.” Fierce competition
among airlines and a progressive national
civil aviation policy are driving growth in
India’s aviation sector, he says. e policy
includes initiatives like the Regional
Connectivity Scheme, alongside schemes
for airport capacity augmentation,
paperless travel and online passenger
grievance redressal. To accommodate
this predicted rising demand, investment
in e ciency is essential, he adds. “ e
Indian ground handling industry is
expected to move towards greater
automation and increased usage of
electric GSE across Indian airports.”
Rutherford ags up the approaching
Tokyo Summer Olympics as cause for
positivity, particularly in counteracting
the temporary reduction in capacity by
many regional carriers in response to the
political tension in Japan. “ e market
is experiencing an in ux of carriers
wanting to operate into Japanese airports
or expand their frequencies, mainly
from mainland China,” he highlights.
Interest in Japan as a tourist destination
is growing considerably, he adds. “With
Haneda airport opening more than 40
international slots, some carriers will
shi their operations from Narita to
Haneda. Slots will open for other carriers
to operate into Narita in 2020, which will
mean ground handling opportunities.”
Airport infrastructure availability and
the dry labour market here may present a
challenge in realising such opportunities,
BFS saw growth in its ramp
ops at Suvarnabhumi last year,
with a 7.8% increase in fl ights
attracting new talent to
the industry, alongside
foreign workforce quota
restrictions and sta
turnover. “We launched
several employee
engagement initiatives
over the past year. We
will continue to have a
strong focus on attracting,
developing and retaining
talent,” he asserts. On
the other hand, Sinclair
reports that BFS found
sta recruitment and
turnover to be manageable
in 2019.
“We remain
hopeful that
tensions will ease
throughout 2020”
Wilson Kwong
Hactl
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