Project logistics for airline repairs still in demand
Hong Kong-based freight forwarder U-Freight says that, while the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a significant reduction in movements of aircraft spares, engines, stabilisers, landing gear and electronics, the company's project activity for airline repair shops has been holding up fairly well.
Bill Rauld, sales manager, Latin America at U-Freight North America, says that aircraft still flying will continue to have technical problems in remote parts of the world, or they may even be involved in relatively minor accidents such as a runway overshoot or heavy landing. Very often, there will not be any alternative to repairing the plane in situ, and this can involve a major logistics operation, he adds.
“We might have to send over portable hangars in, perhaps, three sea freight containers, plus all the tools and so forth, in order to carry out the repair.”
A couple of companies are keeping U-Freight reasonably busy in this sub-sector of the market, recently in places like Mozambique, Turkey and Surinam. (mw)