Newsletter – January 4, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Flights cancelled at Xi’an, with worse to come as new year and Olympics loom

theloadstar.com
China’s ninth-busiest airport for cargo is still facing large numbers of flight cancellations following an outbreak of Covid in the city of Xi’an.
The government imposed a strict lockdown in mid-December and has, since, cut off most transport to the city, including flights.
According to Flightradar24, some 104 aircraft are on the ground at Xi’an Airport, where China Eastern is the largest operator with a near-35% market share. Last year Russian express carrier Atran announced it was launching flights to the city. Read more here (login required).

Lufthansa Could Be Forced To Fly 18,000 Empty Planes To Keep Slots

simpleflying.com
The Lufthansa Group has said that it will be forced to fly the equivalent of 18,000 empty planes during the winter season in order to keep its valuable airport slots. The ‘use it or lose it’ slot rule had been suspended in March 2020, but was brought back incrementally and now stands at 50%. Despite canceling some 33,000 flights, the airline fears unnecessary flights will be operated just to preserve its slots. Read more here.

Air India Express Staff Threaten Indefinite Strike From Next Week

simpleflying.com
Hundreds of Air India Express employees could go on strike from January 15th over disagreements related to issuing of contracts. The low-cost subsidiary of soon-to-be-privatized Air India flies to many popular destinations in the Middle East, and a strike could affect flight operations on a large scale. Read more here.

Thousands More US Flights Canceled As Winter Storm Prevails

simpleflying.com
US airlines are canceling thousands of domestic flights as the winter storm hits the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and South of the country. Over 2,700 flights were canceled by airlines yesterday and hundreds more have been axed today. The storm cancelations come as airlines are already canceling flights due to crewing shortages as Omicron spreads in the US. Read more here.

Cathay Pacific announces 7 day suspension of long-haul cargo operations

aircargonews.net
Cathay Pacific has suspended all long-haul freighter and cargo-only passenger flights to and from Hong Kong until January 6.
The Hong Kong carrier said the move was in response to recently announced more stringent quarantine requirements for Hong Kong-based cargo crews. Read more here.

US 5G plans on hold due to aviation concerns

aircargonews.net
US telecommunications firms Verizon and AT&T have agreed to delay the deployment of certain 5G mobile networks over concerns from aviation that they could affect flight safety.
The two firms had planned to activate their C-Band 5G on January 5 but have now agreed to a 14-day delay. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Ningbo lockdown measures tightened

splash247.com
State media in China is insisting that volumes at the world’s largest port have not dropped, even as lockdown measures across the city of Ningbo increase.
An outbreak of Covid-19 at a clothing factory in the city’s Beilun district over the weekend sparked local lockdowns and mass testing, and has hampered trucker availability connecting Ningbo-Zhoushan port, the world’s largest port in overall cargo volumes and third largest when it comes to handling containers. Read more here.

FMC investigates Wan Hai over detention charges

splash247.com
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is investigating Taiwan’s Wan Hai Lines for possible violations of 46 U.S.C. § 41102(c) with respect to charges relating to container returns.
The FMC contends that Wan Hai invoiced a customer at least 21 times in the spring of 2021 for detention charges when the carrier “either offered no return locations, the designated terminal was not accepting the containers’ chassis, or appointments were unavailable for the subject containers,” according to the FMC’s order of investigation and hearing. Read more here.

LA’s empty-box charge could spark negative reaction from carriers

theloadstar.com
US hauliers fear an empty-container dwell charge at the port of Los Angeles will see shipping lines delay the return of boxes to the port.
Executive director Gene Seroka announced in mid-December that such a fee was under consideration and on 30 December, the port announced charges on long-dwelling empties would be imposed from 30 January. Read more here (login required).