Suez Canal blockage could boost demand for air freight

If navigation on the largest artificial waterway in the world does not resume in the coming days and weeks, then there will be no alternative to air cargo transportation.

It is too early to talk about any significant increase in air travel requests due to the crisis caused by the blockage of the Suez Canal, but this could change fundamentally if the situation is not resolved quickly. It is possible that companies that urgently need cargo will have no choice but to turn to air carriers.

In this scenario, air cargo carriers will benefit, including ZetAvia, which specializes in the transportation of goods on IL-76 aircraft to the countries of the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

The container ship Ever Given, 400 meters long and with a carrying capacity of about 224 thousand tons, was heading from China to Rotterdam and on Tuesday ran aground at the 151th kilometer of the canal, blocking the canal and blocking traffic along it. It was announced on Monday that the giant ship had been floated and that navigation on the Suez Canal would begin in the next few hours.

In the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea with Red Sea, more than 400 ships have accumulated to date. Due to the blockage of this waterway, through which about 12% of world trade passes, goods worth about $ 9.6 billion are delayed every day.

Oleg Sergeev