In a customer advisory dated 20 August Maersk warned of the impact of the recent flare up of Covid-19 cases in China on airport operations, and in particular Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport.
The advisory highlighted that a series of protocols were being implemented at airports across China for both passenger and cargo flights.
“As part of this effort, airport terminals and ground handling agents have implemented strict isolation requirements for their employees that has dramatically impacted the efficiency of unloading/loading of cargo and resulted in large numbers of flight cancellations,” the advisory said.
In the case of Pudong Airport Maersk said that in response to new Covid cases on Friday a large portion of ramp operations were suspended, including loading and unloading.
According to Chinese media four cases involved Chinese staff working on international cargo flights as well as an Ethiopian mechanical engineer over a two-day period.
“In response, many airlines have announced their suspension of flights to Pudong Airport. Several flights on the ground in Pudong Airport are now pending further instructions if they may proceed for unloading/loading their planned payload,” the advisory said.
For Maersk Airfreight it said foresaw delays and longer transit times.
Source: Hand, M. (2021, August 23). Air cargo operations in Shanghai hit by Covid cases. Seatrade Maritime. https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ports-logistics/air-cargo-operations-shanghai-hit-covid-cases