How disruption in the Red Sea is affecting air cargo

Credit: Ali Chehade Farhat/Shutterstock

Security concerns in the Red Sea region, particularly around the Suez Canal, have made it more difficult for companies to rely on sea freight. Shipping lines have been forced to divert vessels, change schedules, or even planning entirely new routings to avoid the region, with rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope pushing transit times up by 10-15 days.

These disruptions have led to multi-modal, or hybrid sea-air transport, becoming more popular again, particularly on routes from Asia to Europe where shipping delays have been most acute, and for the highest value, time sensitive goods.

“There were attempts to establish new land-air connections across the Middle East to avoid the need to use shipping through the Red Sea,” says James Hookham, director of the Global Shippers Forum.

“These were primarily aimed at serving the eastern Mediterranean market, which had gone from being the ‘first stop after the Suez’ to becoming a ‘cul-de-sac’ served by feeder ships out of Algiceras and Tanger Med.”

Concerns around the reliability of ocean freight mounted further as the threat of a strike by members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) grew, something that came to fruition in October, when dockworkers walked out of 14 major US ports along both the East and Gulf coast.

Thankfully however, strike action only lasted three days, although the threat isn’t fully over as the union has stated it is pausing strike action until January while negotiations take place.

As a result of these disruptions, many companies have understandably turned to air freight to maintain supply chain stability for some, or all in the case of the US strike situation, of their goods.

This increased demand for air cargo services has enabled the industry to gain market share, raise rates, and therefore profits. However, these benefits haven’t come without their own challenges, highlighting the need for companies to invest in more flexible operations, better risk management, and enhanced technology that enables them to adapt more quickly.

Rerouting maritime cargo to air transport significantly increases demand, leading to tight capacity on key air cargo routes, as air cargo is limited by the number of aircraft available for freight, particularly during peak seasons.

“This is especially evident on Asia-Europe and Middle East-Europe routes, which are heavily impacted by Red Sea disruptions,” notes Richard Charles, CEO of independent global freight management and logistics network WACO. “Airlines can struggle to accommodate the sudden influx of cargo, creating bottlenecks and delaying shipments.”

Airlines often need to reroute around restricted or conflict-prone airspaces themselves, increasing distances flown.

For example, avoiding conflict zones near the Red Sea means longer, more indirect flight paths, which can result in delays, higher fuel costs, and scheduling complexities, according to Charles.

“What’s more, the unpredictable nature of geopolitical conflicts and maritime disruptions creates operation uncertainty for air cargo companies, making long-term planning challenging. Plus, as air traffic shifts to alternative hubs, particularly in regions like the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, airport infrastructure may struggle to handle the increased volume of cargo.”

Labour shortages are another concern, particularly in the areas of airport handling operations. Any increase in volume will stress this further, notes Tony Chiapetta, co-owner and VP of sales at logistics company Argents.

“This will affect overall efficiencies and turnaround time,” he says.

In response to these challenges, air cargo operators have been doing what they can to adapt. Charles points to growing investment into security protocols for air routes that pass near conflict zones for example, and also the enhancement of resilience by developing dynamic rerouting strategies to adapt to changing geopolitical risks.

Airlines are also investing in increasing capacity, as Chiapetta explains.

“They’re investing in more dedicated freighters and converting old passenger planes to increase cargo capacity,” he says. “They’re also doing more to collaborate with passenger planes to maximise the belly space of the planes.”

Air freight operators are also spending more time and money on improving overall efficiencies through the use of IT solutions, particularly AI.

“Infrastructure and technological advancements are crucial in helping the air cargo industry better respond to future disruptions, allowing them to reroute proactively rather than reactively,” says Chiapetta.

Automated handling at airport hubs is also becoming more prevalent, adds Alan Dong, regional air manager at logistics services provider OEC Group.

“Modernised terminals equipped with advanced technologies, robotics, AI and data management could help mitigate future challenges,” he says. “These can reduce human error, speed up processes and minimise operational irregularities.” 

While the Red Sea disruptions have been largely normalised, with routings for the main part now predictable, and the threat of port worker strikes delayed, it’s still important for the sector to build a more flexible, resilient, and secure logistics network, so that it can better withstand future geopolitical and economic disruptions.

Hookham advises that companies change the record: “It’s less Talking Head’s Once in a lifetime, and more Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping – think of the lyrics 'I get knocked down, but I get up again.'”

“There are too many geopolitical, climatic, and industry/market risks that stand to threaten supply chain continuity, which are not going to recede even in the medium term,” he explains.

“Nearly all of them are outside of their control to influence. The best way to respond is building appropriate and reliable relationships with other partners to be there for you when things go wrong,” he advises.  

Even if it's smooth sailing looking forward, experts forecast that air cargo is likely to continue seeing elevated demand, in part due to the continued growth of e-commerce. This is one more reason to invest in the sector, as whatever the future holds, air cargo will be vital to keeping the world moving.