The Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted airfreight movement into Africa as airports closed and aircraft were grounded.Paul Lawrence, managing director, Tigers South Africa, said uncertainty prevailed across the sector which was grappling with the effects of the virus on its operations.“We have seen many domestic f light cancellations over the past few months while airports have also been closed.”At the time of this interview, Lesotho had just announced that it had stopped all operations at its main airport.With capacity down and demand continuing to increase, questions are being raised about the possible impact of the Covid-19 vaccine distribution on the airfreight sector.“The African Union has secured 270 million vaccine doses coming into Africa which will result in space constraints within the continent,” said Lawrence, indicating that political instability in both East and West Africa was not making the situation any easier.“We are seeing countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia make changes that will result in the imposition of higher tariffs on freight into their countries.”Lawrence said now, more than ever, securing a strong network in Africa was essential. “This means it is critical to have strong agents on the ground that have solid service structures and a good work ethic in their country.”He said where destinations had been closed or direct f lights cancelled alternative solutions were increasingly being sought to f ly cargo to the closest country and then truck it from there across borders.“With regard to international movement, we can look at direct cross trades as most of these countries are open to international f lights,” he said.In terms of rates, Lawrence indicated attempts were being made to fix rates as much as possible or obtain blocked space agreements (BSA) – especially on regular routes“There are still some real risks to contend with in the airfreight space in Africa, including theft of cargo and delays.”According to Lawrence, delays at customs continue to impact on operations. “To process a bill of entry in Ghana, for example, can take anything from three to five working days. Also, most of the airlines in African countries are still on a manual process which is also time-consuming.”He said other than theft, the loss of cargo was also problematic. “Many airline ground agents do not have good systems and processes in place which results in cargo getting lost.”However, despite the challenges Lawrence remains cautiously optimistic about the African airfreight sector in 2021.“It is going to be challenging yet still profitable, so a solid footprint and service is beneficial.”It is, however, critical that agents are strictly vetted to rule out corruption and mismanagement. “There must also be solid processes in place at both origin and destination.”He said in Africa the airfreight sector was seeing very similar trends to those internationally. “The global airfreight situation has not eased up and is only expected to change in the second half of 2021 where passenger f lights are expected to resume at a higher level. With the period coming up to the Chinese New Year there is pressure on capacity, but solutions can still be found. We are still getting bookings from China to South Africa and from South Africa into Africa.”With the fourth quarter of 2020 having seen a lot of customers boost their inventories ahead of a global Covid-19 vaccine distribution, it is expected that there will be some impact on the available supply in the first quarter of this year and onwards.To process a bill of entry in Ghana can take anything from three to five working days.– Paul Lawrence“Paul Lawrence
