The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the associated restrictions on air traffic have direct consequences for supply chains. In air freight, the Russian companies banned from EU airspace are no longer available, while western airlines can no longer use the airspace over the largest country in the world. Flights from Central Europe to Japan, Korea and China are sometimes extended by several hours and can take up to 20 percent less freight, as Lufthansa Cargo has reported.
“The routes to Asia are getting longer, kerosene costs are rising and capacities are falling,” says Frankfurt freight expert Joachim von Winning – especially since the loading options in passenger jets are not expected to be expanded as quickly as expected in peacetime, despite the easing of the Corona crisis would have been. The direct consequence is clear: the already very high freight rates will continue to increase in view of the continuing problems with sea freight. Above all, companies that can offer full freighters will benefit.
The EU foreign ministers decided on Sunday evening to completely close the airspace of the European Union to Russian planes. A corresponding German regulation had already come into force on Sunday afternoon. The Russian aviation authority Rosawiazija then announced on Monday that aircraft from Germany and 35 other countries are no longer allowed to fly over Russia.
Some cargo that was actually supposed to be flown by freighters of the Russian Volga-Dnepr Group has already been left at the most important German freight hubs in Frankfurt and Leipzig. In Frankfurt, its subsidiary AirBridgeCargo (ABC) has so far been number two behind top dog Lufthansa and handled 110,000 tons of cargo there between Russia, Europe and the USA last year. The company specialized, among other things, in the transport of pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies. Since the flight was stopped, there has been unrest at the independent handling company Frankfurt Cargo Services, which has lost its important customer for the time being.
Three giant Antonov 124 freighters belonging to the Russian Volga-Dnepr Group are stranded at Leipzig/Halle Airport. A spokesman for Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG said on Monday that they are now banned from flying in the airspace like all other Russian aircraft. However, two other machines of the same type are allowed to take off from Leipzig because they belong to the Ukrainian Antonov Airlines. The spokesman explained that they were deployed within the framework of the Salis agreement for NATO member states.
Security circles assessed the chances of the Volga-Dnepr Group to circumvent the flight bans by re-registering aircraft to their British or German subsidiary to be low. Aviation expert Gerald Wissel from the consulting firm Airborne is also convinced: “They are clearly subject to the sanctions.” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had made it clear that the EU airspace closure applies to all aircraft owned, controlled by or registered in Russia.
So who will take over the business of the Russian freighters? Lufthansa Cargo has been flying at the limit of its capacities since the beginning of the corona pandemic and will deliver record profits in the billions for the 2021 financial year to the Lufthansa Group, which has been damaged by the corona. Unthinkable just a few years ago, it has recently even been operating two medium-haul Airbus A321 jets as cargo aircraft.
Aviation expert Wissel sees great business opportunities for the large Arab companies such as Emirates and Qatar, which, like the Chinese, have continued to use Russian airspace. Because of the geographical location of their hubs, they do not have to change their connections to the Far East either, while the US companies are likely to switch more to the Pacific routes. Wissel also warns of rising kerosene prices and fewer business trips given Putin’s invasion. “The impact of the war on air travel is huge. How long the conflict lasts will matter a lot.” (dpa)