News / Ambitious air freight gateway to Ukraine has only 'a small window of opportunity'

Poland’s Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport (RZE)’s hopes of converting its temporary cargo success to long-term opportunity hinge on continuing US support for Ukraine.

The airport has turned itself into a gateway for supplies of western military aid for Ukraine, following the Russian invasion in February 2022, with its busiest day coming that summer when it handled more than 1,200 tonnes of freight.

Since then, according to Rotate’s Live Capacity Database, RZE has seen fortnightly spikes, with daily averages of between 300 and 600 tonnes, coming in on commercial and military aircraft.

By comparison, the Rotate tool indicated that in the two years preceding the invasion, the airport’s busiest day was 28 December 2021, when it handled a little over 200 tonnes, with average daily volumes typically as little as 20 tonnes.

Given its location close to the Ukrainian border, the Polish airport proved an obvious choice for shipping aid into the besieged country.

And sources speaking toThe Loadstar have praised the gateway for the speed at which, following the outbreak of the war, it improved its cargo operations, particularly given some of the security requirements involved in handling military aid.

Now, having proved itself, sources close to the airport claim its cargo team is looking at how RZE can be developed into a permanent post-war air freight proposition.

However, one expert told The Loadstar that while the airport had ambitions for a long-term cargo operation, there was only a “small window of opportunity”, dependent on not only developing return flows, but how, or whether, US support for Ukraine changes in the new year when President Trump takes office.

“Many operators would prefer to position back to main hubs in Europe, where they can leave with full loads or to carry on to Asia to capitalise on high premiums,” said the source.

“I think RZE has a small window of opportunity to try to capitalise on flows, but its ability is compromised because cargo is moving based on competitive tenders for full charters versus scheduled lift or per kilo movements.”

Together with having to develop a market for feasible outbound flows, the expert added, the timeframe for the team to achieve this was “somewhat a moving target”.

The source added: “It is unfortunate for RZE, as they seem to be trying hard to develop return loads. I am not sure there will be time to develop this before Trump pulls support for Ukraine and volumes dry up.”