The Hong Kong government is tightening the quarantine regulations for flight crews in order to curb the spread of the Omikron variant of the coronavirus: every time pilots and other crew members arrive in Hong Kong, pilots and other crew members must be in strict hotel quarantine for seven days instead of the previous three. As a result, the capacity for air freight is falling, which could further exacerbate the chip crisis.
Hong Kong is Asia’s most important hub for air freight: According to the operator, around 4.5 million tons of air freight left the airport in 2020 – it also acts as a lock to and from China, where many semiconductor components are assembled in packaging plants. According to the Airports Council International (ACI), in 2020 only Memphis, Tennessee (USA) handled 4.6 million tons more air freight.
Flight plans on the back burner
Cathay Pacific Cargo, one of the most important air freight airlines in Hong Kong, suspended all flights from Hong Kong from December 30, 2021 to January 6, 2022. The flight schedule is now running on the back burner: the flights to China (Mainland China) are hardly affected with 14 to 16 aircraft per week, but only seven a week fly to America and not a single one to Europe. For comparison: In the winter season 20/21, Cathay Pacific Cargo planned 34 flights a week to America and seven to Europe (PDF).
The news agency Reuters Quotes Cathay Pacific, according to which the air cargo capacity from January to probably March 2022 is only 20 percent of the pre-pandemic level. At the same time, the demand is higher than it was two years ago.
A so-called closed-loop system could streamline the flight plan from spring. Flight crews are not allowed to have any contact with the outside world for several weeks at a time, so they only have to stay in quarantine hotels when they are not in airplanes. A year ago, for example, Cathay Pacific Cargo was able to significantly increase flight frequency, even though quarantine times of two weeks were in effect at the time. The prescribed quarantine times only apply when a crew completes a loop. Since the crews are not allowed to go out into the fresh air for weeks and see relatives, the system puts a lot of strain on the employees.
(mma)