News / Air charter demand soars as humanitarian flights add to strike fears

© Alibek Aibazov

News that the US port strike has ended for now will bring much relief to shippers – but requests for air charters have soared this week, for a variety of reasons.

And that demand has not been limited to strike-affected shippers, fearful of having their cargo in the wrong place in the run-up to Christmas, charter brokers are also dealing with humanitarian and crisis cargo, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.

Jon Corbi, Air Partner’s EVP for group charter and cargo, told The Loadstar: “We have seen a huge uptick in demand for air cargo and freight, due to the threat of port strikes, and the strikes themselves, at a time when there has already been an increased need for medical shipments due to natural disasters and global geopolitical instability.”

The sudden rise in demand has affected available capacity, added Dan Morgan-Evans of Air Charter Service.

“We have seen a sharp untick in enquiries off the back of the port strike, and this could potentially have a big impact on rates – in fact it already is – and availability.”

Mr Corbi added: “We are now seeing charter prices spike due to the increased demand. In fact, prices are approaching the extremely high levels we haven’t seen since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Back then, prices were largely driven up by supply chain issues and the decrease in the availability of passenger flights for cargo shipments. Now, we can attribute the rising prices to a combination of many global disruption factors even beyond the strikes, which couldn’t come at a worse time for shippers as we enter our traditional busy peak season time.”

While requests for charters related to the port strike will now decline, brokers are still facing additional demand from the Middle East, where passenger aircraft have been ordered for evacuations.

It seems likely that charter rates will continue to be high for the rest of the year.