IATA says red tape delaying Covid-19 medical cargo flights

Governments were endangering lives by holding up cargo planes delivering life-saving medical supplies to combat the coronavirus pandemic with “cumbersome and bureaucratic processes”, the air industry's trade body said on Wednesday.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said vital flights were being grounded by red tape to secure slots and operating permits.

It called for fast track procedures for overflight and landing permits for cargo operations, particularly in the key manufacturing hubs in Asia -- China, Korea and Japan -- in response to the increased number of cargo charters replacing withdrawn passenger operations.

IATA said governments should exempt crew who do not interact with the public from 14-day quarantine requirements; support temporary traffic rights for cargo operations where restrictions may apply; remove economic impediments, such as overflight charges, parking fees, and slot restrictions and remove operating hour curfews.

“Air cargo is a vital partner in the global fight against Covid-19. But we are still seeing examples of cargo flights filled with life-saving medical supplies and equipment grounded due to cumbersome and bureaucratic processes to secure slots and operating permits,” said IATA chief executive Alexandre de Juniac.

“These delays are endangering lives. All governments need to step up to keep global supply chains open.”

The World Health Organisation said the reduction of air passenger traffic was “seriously hurting our scheduled freight operations”.

“We call on airline companies and governments to join the global effort to ensure dedicated freight capacity continues to operate on previously high volume passenger routes that are now closed down,” says WHO logistics chief Paul Molinaro.

IATA cited several examples of airlines using spare passenger planes to boost capacity, including Delta, American and United in the US and Air Canada, Aeromexico, Austrian, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Iberia, Korean, LATAM Lufthansa, Qantas, Scoot and Swiss.

Ethiopian Airlines was transporting medical equipment through its hub to Africa’s 54 nations, while China Eastern delivered supplies to support doctors in Italy and Austrian used two passenger Boeing 777 aircraft to fly medical equipment from China to Austria.