Air Charter Service has secured exclusive cargo capacity ahead of the Brexit transition period deadline of January 1 by contracting a UK-registered BAe 146 freighter from British airline, Jota Aviation.
Dan Morgan-Evans, Group Cargo Director at Air Charter Service, told Rogistics: “The current contract is until the end of January but of course we have extension clauses, should it be required.”
The aircraft is the first of what ACS hopes to be a number of options that the company is securing in order to ensure that, in the “scramble for capacity due to Brexit disruption,” it can continue to offer its clients competitive solutions. As the aircraft is UK-registered, there will be no need for permits to fly into the country.
Morgan-Evans commented in a statement: “Whether there is a trade deal between the UK and EU or not, it is clear that there will be disruption ahead at the UK border.
“According to government statistics, if even a small percentage of cargo coming through the UK’s sea ports in January requires transportation by air due to the disruption, there would be a significant requirement for airfreight – the equivalent of filling thousands of Boeing B747 freighters, in some scenarios.
“With the continued lack of belly capacity potentially exacerbated in January by this anticipated spike in demand, charter aircraft will have to pick up the shortfall.”
He added in the statement: “The Bae 146 was identified as an ideal aircraft in many of our simulated scenarios, which included looking at the possibility of landing at smaller airports in the event of cargo congestion at major airports. However, there are a limited number available, especially on the G register.
“Whilst we can already source all of the 146s on the market reactively like many other brokers, we felt that exclusive use of this aircraft would give ACS customers an advantage, should the situation escalate.
“We have a long history of dealing with these sorts of situations and know very well that relying on being ‘first come first served’ once demand has already spiked is not best for our customers – especially those who have last-minute requirements.”
The aircraft offers 12 tonnes of gross payload with a total volume of around 120 cu m. With the roller bed floors being removed, the aircraft can also be bulk loaded.
Morgan-Evans concluded: “We would advise all of our customers to get in touch with potential requirements sooner rather than later.
“Even if you do not have firm requirements at this stage, starting the conversation sooner rather than later helps us move quickly in order to ensure clients do not miss out.”
Morgan-Evans told Rogistics: “Our customer base is freight forwarders – of course we get approached by shippers that are worried about their supply chains during January and these are wide-ranging – from fresh produce to manufacturing.“
