The modal shift in cargo movement related to the situation in the Red Sea, where Houthi rebels continue to attack maritime vessels out of opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza, has played havoc with airfreight services in the Middle East and West Asia.
UAE ground-handler in Dubai, dnata, and Bangkok Flight Services (BFS) temporarily suspended throughput because of spiking airfreight volume relative to ocean freight not moving through the Suez Canal.
Although dnata’s operational stoppage has since been identified as “company-specific”, BFS confirmed that incoming cargo was halted due to processing issues given the rapidly increased volume.
Consignee cargo idling at their facility over weekends, BFS said, contributed to throughput capacity shortfalls because up to 30% of cargo was not moved out of their premises in time.
However, the handler has stated in the meantime that it has normalised processes, enabling BFS to return to full operations.
Despite dnata avoiding speculation that it battled to cope with Red Sea-related airfreight, Etihad Cargo in Dubai said there had been a significant uptick in volume.
Danish freight forwarder Scan Global Logistics (SCL) said there had been a noticeable increase in airfreight congestion in the run-up to the Chinese New Year, flagging Colombo, Singapore, Doha, Dubai and Bangkok as hubs where congestion was at its worst.
SCL added that airfreight rates out east increased by as much as 30% between late January and early February.
