Geodis has established a number of air charter services to assist customers with urgent shipments during the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. In addition, rail alternatives are being offered to/from China.
A spokesperson for the France-based forwarder said: “While ocean freight continues to be disrupted and air cargo options severely restricted by established carriers cancelling scheduled flights, Geodis is providing alternative means to move customers’ cargoes between China and Europe as well as on Transatlantic routes.”
The first of the air charter services departed from Frankfurt (Germany) on a one-way to Shanghai on the 12 February.
In order to facilitate the resurgence in westbound freight out of China, Geodis followed up on February 21 with the first round trip service departing from Liege (Belgium), again with the destination Shanghai Pudong International.
As of the 28 February, weekly round trip flights were established from Frankfurt, with Shanghai departures each Tuesday.
This schedule will remain in place throughout the month of March when consideration of a further extension will be made and is being complemented by flights from Hong Kong to Europe.
Geodis has continued with its newly introduced direct, dedicated service from Hong Kong to Guadalajara, Mexico, through March. The next flight will depart Hong Kong on March 22.
Geodis also maintains its offering of rail solutions from major cities in China. Two options are scheduled from Xi’an and Chongqing to the German destinations of Hamburg and Duisburg.
The standard services have an 18 day transit time and from Xi’an to Hamburg an express, 12-day solution is provided. Return routings are also available.
Geodis has also established a return air charter program linking Amsterdam and Chicago with a schedule of four flights a week. The first flight from Amsterdam will be on 21 March.
Eric Martin-Neuville, Geodis executive vice president of global freight forwarding explained: “In the current global situation, our priority is to provide reliable and secure transport solutions to our customers to ensure connections between China, Europe and America.”
To further assist customers during this period of disruption, Geodis is issuing a daily Advisory Bulletin on the Coronavirus Outbreak. This can be found on Geodis’ website here.
