Speculation has been rife that all international flights around the world may be temporarily suspended amidst the widespread lockdowns that are restricting movement to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
With many airlines canceling as much as 90% of their scheduled flights, and skeleton international flights operating due to global entry restrictions in almost every country, the theory, on the surface, would hold merit.
Commercial airlines also add substantial capacity in addition to cargo-only airlines like seen here. … [+]
Commercial flights will, however, continue in a limited capacity. With much of the West confined to lockdowns and travel restrictions, the great testament to supply chains in 2020 is the fact that they are working.
Despite certain pockets of panic buying of items such as toilet roll, supplies have been replenished. The food is not running out, but temporarily shortages can and will be caused by huge multiplier peaks we have seen in demand, but the message is clear: don’t panic. The irrational purchasing of larger items such as toilet roll is an interesting psychological effect that when shoppers are stocking up on supplies they gravitate towards and unnecessarily over-purchase larger bulk items.
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 13:Delta airlines planes are parked at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York … [+]
I digress, the testament to the economy is that supplies are not running out. Freight is flowing and necessary production lines are still operating.
The flow of vital goods and services actually relies on commercial passenger flights as well. To anyone flying you may forget that sat below you on a Boeing 777 is not just your checked luggage, but also a large cargo hold.
As an example, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet can hold over 400 passengers but also has a cargo hold below deck that has a capacity of 5,330 cubic feet (150 m3) of cargo.
Cargo -only Boeing 747. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Almost every airline sells extra capacity and space on routes for cargo that is either urgent or beyond the capacity of regular cargo airlines like FedEx, DHL, Prime Air or Atlas.
Understandably, the movement of cargo is resilient and vital in the current climate, and there are certain countries that actually rely on certain passenger flights to receive important daily cargo. This includes perishable items that are necessary.
For example, the daily flight from Paris to Papeete in French Polynesia is still operating, and with the current border restrictions, Air Tahiti Nui has actually moved the flight to be direct, without their previous stop in Los Angeles for fuel and passengers. Although this reduces the fuel efficiency buy flying direct (think of a sea fulfilling prophecy of carrying more fuel to actually carry the additional fuel for the longer part of the flight), it is necessary to ensure the flight operates. This route has now become the world’s longest domestic flight, clocking in at over 15 hours.
Air Tahiti Nui now operate the world’s longest domestic flight from Paris to French Polynesia. … [+]
However, with so few international flights into French Polynesia, it remains vital to move cargo in and out of the country, even with much-reduced passenger loads.
Therefore, if as an example a passenger jet is only flying 50 passengers, the cargo below may still not only make the flight commercially viable but also highly necessary to keep supply chains and the movement of goods seamless during such times.
The U.S. Postal Service actually leases cargo space on 15,000 out of 25,000 daily flights in the U.S. for example.
In times of normality, airlines now make over 10% of their revenue from the transportation of cargo and some flights that connect vital links, particularly island nations can generate as much as 40% of the revenue from each flight through cargo alone.
