Air Menzies International (AMI) is expanding its footprint into mainland Europe, concentrating on developing and extending its reach, particularly in Belgium, northern France, northwest Germany and routing via Amsterdam into South Africa.According to Tjalling Boonstra, the company’s head of sales, business development & operations, Europe, the Netherlands has historically had strong air links with South Africa, and with multiple carriers f lying out of Schiphol, it makes sense to build on this route and complement AMI’s already strong offering into South Africa from Europe. “Additionally, we are continuously looking to expand our network, and we see Europe and the Indian subcontinent as prime locations for adding any new locations to our network.”Boonstra said Europe continued to present opportunities, mainly because it was the world's largest single market area with over 450 million consumers and third globally in terms of purchasing power parity behind the US and China. “I see many opportunities presenting themselves after the vaccination programme is fulfilled across Europe; businesses will open up again, manufacturing levels will increase quickly, and companies will adapt faster to explore new markets in Africa and the Far East in particular. The Netherlands already has a long-established entry point for goods from the Far East into Europe, and AMI has services for distribution throughout western Europe with our express partners.”Commenting on current industry trends, Boonstra indicated that capacity remained constrained. There was also an increased focus on the production and distribution of vaccines taking place in various countries. “In terms of airlines, the full freighter operators who were struggling before the outbreak of Covid-19, are now thriving. Airports are also giving much more focus and provision to the movement of airfreight in the absence of passenger f lights.”He said the main challenge, however, was capacity constraints. “This is something we anticipate will continue to exist for some time. Only if and when passenger traffic picks up again will we see an improvement on that part. There is no easy solution to that challenge other than to look at the planning process and secure ample space as soon as possible as last-minute capacity may simply not be available, even at premium rates.”He said the fact that South African Airways (SA A) was no longer operating scheduled f lights to and from Europe was adding to the challenges, and with no sign that they were likely to return anytime soon, it was a situation that had to be overcome. Volumes to South Africa, however, were still down, having taken a hit during 2020 – especially during the hard lockdown.I see many opportunities presenting themselves after the vaccination programme is fulfilled across Europe.– Tjalling Boonstra “
