A KQ plane at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG Importers are grappling with a sharp rise in freight charges as cargo operators hike the cost to compensate on reduced consignments and empty flights coming in from Europe and Asia to pick shipment in Africa.
For instance, a trader importing cargo now would now have to part with Sh1,000 from Sh200 for a kilo of freight transported by flight from China to Nairobi.
The increment has been precipitated by closure of airspace in South Africa, Lagos and Abuja, which act as major hubs for cargo flights coming in from European countries to Nairobi, given that there is not much load to transport to Kenya directly.
The airlines carry cargo they would drop in these cities before proceeding to Nairobi, hence cutting down on their operational cost. However, Nigeria and South Africa have put in place a total lockdown that restricts movement of both international cargo and passenger flights.
Major freight carriers have already stopped flying to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi because of sluggish business.
“We are flying back empty from Europe and other cities, meaning that we are not making any money by flying to Nairobi. That way, we need to raise the charges to cover for that cost,” said Sanjeev Gadhia, chief executive officer of Astral Aviation.
Mr Gadhia, whose airline operates in different African destinations and Europe, has now cut the number of flights from five to three on the European route every week.
Major cargo airlines have pulled out of the Nairobi route for lack of business between Europe and Asia route to Africa, even after the government made it clear that freight carriers would be allowed to operate.
On Wednesday last week, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) issued Notice to the Airmen (NOTAM) banning all the passenger flights from coming to Kenya as government moved to contain the spread of the Coronavirus, which has now hit 142 as of April 5.
Astral Aviation said there business has gone down by 40 percent even as they project the total volumes to be hauled this year to drop to 30,000 tonnes from 75,000 tonnes last year.
The Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya (FPC) wants the government to offer some incentives to freighters in order for them to charge lower fees on the consignments being shipped abroad given sluggish business at the moment.“We want the government to waive taxes and other […]
