- By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOT The bellowing ash from Iceland’ Eyjafjallajökull glacier and the chaos that subsequently happened to the airline industry is yet another stark reminder of how vulnerable the air cargo industry can be to external forces beyond its control. As if the fallout from the economic downturn has not impacted air carriers enough, Iceland’s cloud of ash resulted in the grounding of some 95,000 flights. For days, air carrier service came to a halt in Europe, subsequently impacting air service around the world. Big Financial Hits Airlines, airports and shippers are taking deep financial hits from the groundings. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global trade group, estimates the airspace closure cost airlines world-wide roughly $1.7 billion in lost revenue. The Association of European Airlines reports that European airlines, which were already laggards in the global aviation recovery and hardest hit by the grounding, lost almost $1.34 billion in revenue. Airports Council International Europe estimates that European airports lost an additional $375 million in revenue. According to Michael Göntgens, spokesman for Lufthansa Cargo AG, his carrier had some 10,000 tons of backlog at the beginning of the week of April 19. “There was some 6,000 tons in Frankfurt,” he says. “This led to the decision that we were not able to accept any more shipments in Frankfurt as our warehouse was just operating at full capacity.” During those first days of the ash cloud, the carrier immediately started shipping all incoming overseas freight by truck to their European destinations. “But the effort was, of course, limited as no overseas freight could be transported to or from Frankfurt,” he says. Göntgens reveals that only a limited number of affected shipments were perishable goods, such as freshly cut flowers. “However we tried everything to avoid damages to perishable goods,” he says. “For instance, no perishable goods were delivered to our worldwide stations after the closure of the European air space, and we also got already accepted shipments on the truck where anyhow possible.” The impact was felt by everyone as far away as Africa, Asia and North America. In fact, Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency, estimates that the total tonnage of air freight shipped into and out of the 16-euro-zone countries hovered around 9.8 million tons in 2008. One only has to contemplate the numbers to understand the devastating effects. “Shippers are the ones who have to contend with the delays and the inconvenience,” remarks Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association in Washington, DC. Impacted are goods such as perishables, medicines and electronics, as well as routine just-in-time shipments. “The freight forwarding community has responded with in its typical creative way to help during the crisis,” he remarks. “They circumvented shipments as much as possible, as was exemplified by moving flights and shipments through Spain. Shippers primary concern is that forwarders were doing something within a reasonable time.” In fact, one of the stranger side-effects of the Icelandic volcano’s eruption, was the world’s largest freighter aircraft – the Antonov An-225 - performed its first charter from China, carrying a full load of general cargo. The unique aircraft, owned by Antonov Airlines and normally associated only with the very largest and heaviest outsize loads, transported the cargo from Shijiazhuang Airport (SJW) near Beijing to Vitoria (VIT), Spain on behalf of a major freight forwarder. The unusual operation was necessitated by the serious air cargo backlogs that have built up in China due to the closure of European airspace for several days following the volcanic eruption. “The An-225 is not usually used for general cargo, but its proximity at the time of the charter, and the magnitude of the overall backlog problem, enabled us to provide a viable solution for the client on this occa