To counter airfreight ‘tourism’
German forwarders lament the consequences of a strict national framework. The efforts made by the logistics industry, airlines and airports to stabilise airfreight supply chains have also to be flanked by political framework conditions that sustainably strengthen the market position of German companies internationally. To back up this demand, the DSLV, the Association of German Freight Forwarders and Logistics Operators, recently presented its ‘airfreight action plan’.
We’ve known it since March 2020 at least that facial masks – which save lives, as we know – aren’t heavy, and yet they can easily break volume records for airfreight consignments. Simultaneously, air cargo shipments to and from Germany account for around 30% of the value of the country’s total foreign trade.
The high level of organisational expertise offered by German airfreight forwarders makes sure that the industrial sector in the nation receives a reliable supply of important and sometimes time-critical goods of the best quality, even in this third consecutive year of crisis. To ensure that this remains the case, the Association of German Freight Forwarders and Logistics Operators (Deutscher Speditions- und Logistikverband DSLV) has drawn up an action plan addressing six key points.
Uniform implementation of EU law
The DSLV recently emphasised the intrinsic importance of consistent and complete compliance with the EU’s legal requirements concerning airfreight security by all players in the supply chain.
However, the association criticises that interpretation of the EU Aviation Security Regulation 2015 / 1998 by the German federal aviation authority is “significantly more restrictive” than that of other national aviation security authorities in the EU, where less red tape for sensitive air cargo is frequently permitted.
The differences are so large that it actually becomes worthwhile to transport airfreight by truck from Germany to airports in other countries of the EU, have it checked there for compliance with security regulations, and then truck it back to Germany. Amongst the consequences are increased volumes of freight on European roads, with negative ecological effects and a weakened German airfreight industry.
There is also persistent handling congestion as well as waiting times for imported airfreight, which have led to a shift and the re-routing of freight away from Europe’s largest cargo airport, Frankfurt, amongst other places. This also has a negative effect on the overall logistics chain. Handling agents’ staffing bottlenecks that need to be eliminated also contribute significantly to this.