Update from China: Disruption at airports

DACHSER has been notified by major airlines, including but not limited to Chinese carriers such as China Southern Airlines (CZ), China Cargo Airlines (CK), China Eastern Airlines (MU), that with immediate effect all their flights (in- and outbound) to Shanghai (PVG) and to Zhengzhou (CGO) will be suspended until further notice. The impact on capacity on these very important trade lanes is vast and significant and is starting to send ripples to other airports in Asia. 

Due to the increased COVID-19 measures that have been taken by authorities in the greater Shanghai area, the operational handling at Shanghai Pudong Airport is severely affected. Shipments that have arrived at the airport are not being handled due to limited capacities and are facing heavy delays. Most airlines have therefore decided not to fly additional cargo into Shanghai and Zhengzhou which is an important airfreight hub for China.

This development has resulted in an increased usage of alternative airports (such as Beijing, Chengdu, Qingdao and Nanjing but also airports in South China) in combination with road feeder services to connect to such alternative airports. Many of the alternative airports are now reaching or already exceeding their capacity limits as well.

As of now we do not know how long this situation will persist and it is not foreseeable when airlines will resume to regular services between North China and Europe. All major economic centres in North China are increasingly affected with important industrial cities such as Ningbo, Suzhou, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Dalian, Jinan, Wuhan, Qingdao, Shenyang and Changchun.

The teams of DACHSER will monitor the development of the situation very closely and do their best to make the supply chains as seamless as possible. Local representatives at DACHSER will be happy to provide information about shipments and possible alternatives.