With route network recovery still on the go at King Shaka International Airport, situated near Durban, airfreight capacity in KwaZulu-Natal remains tight.According to Ricardo Isaac, senior manager: cargo development and operations at Dube Cargo Terminal, the reduction of air services as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic hit the province hard – because most of the air cargo f lown through Durban is carried in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft.“From our market studies, we found that about 60% of the goods produced in KwaZulu-Natal that were being transported by air pre-pandemic were being f lown directly out of the Dube Cargo Terminal,” he told Freight News.This is in line with the route network recovery at the airport that is now at about the 60% mark.“With international air traffic servicing only Gauteng during most of the pandemic, the local airfreight market was forced to adapt to the capacity constraint, and cargo was trucked up to Johannesburg,” explained Isaac. “But as Durban regains airfreight capacity through the reintroduction of more passenger f lights, the airfreight market is readjusting. “This is an indicator of the demand for airfreight capacity in Durban. As the capacity returns, we expect to see the f lows in cargo throughput realign, sustaining growth that is between 12% and 20%. We believe this is a realistic measure of the airfreight market growth of the KwaZulu-Natal catchment area.”Intercontinental airline carriers like Emirates have returned to Durban and are now f lying five f lights a week. Qatar Airways has four f lights a week and Turkish Airlines has added two f lights a week to Durban. On the regional front, Airlink has taken over the Durban-Harare route, f lying three times a week between the two regional centres. The route was previously serviced by both SA Express and Prof light Zambia. Some airlines – such as British Airways, Air Mauritius and Air Namibia – have serviced Botswana and Namibia but have left a deficit in airfreight capacity to destinations in Europe and the southern African region. “KwaZulu-Natal remains an underserviced market when it comes to air connectivity. Judging by the numbers, there is significant potential in direct f lights into Europe, South East Asia, the Far East and the rest of southern Africa,” said Isaac. “However, we are seeing an increase in air connectivity into Durban with airlines like Turkish Airlines reintroducing f lights that give Durban access into Europe, while the Middle East hub carriers Qatar and Emirates also provide onward connectivity into South East Asia. As these airlines increase their frequencies in Durban, it will spur the growth of air connectivity and expand King Shaka International Airport’s overall route network.”He said imports still outweighed exports, which was mostly a ref lection of the South African economy at large. “Primarily, we export commodities and other goods that use sea or road freight. The more high-value goods that use airfreight are mainly imports in the form of specialised components, automotive parts, fast-fashion items, chemicals and consumer goods.”According to Isaac, Dube Cargo Terminal has been seeing growth of about 23% year-on-year.
