Steven Polmans
Air cargo continued operating in full capacity and was more important than ever to ensure the supply of essential products in this pandemic. Steven Polmans, Director Cargo Logistics, Brussels Airport Company in an extensive interview with Ritika Arora Bhola, discusses the airport’s strategies to survive in these difficult hours, India’s potential of becoming a manufacturing hub, investment options and plans for future trade with India, and other upcoming projects.
T Air cargo has reacted quickly and adequately to the crisis
ell us about the categories of cargo that are being moved more than ever from the airport after COVID-19 has hit the industry globally. We have seen personal protective equipment (PPE) shipments moving in large numbers which took over a large share of the capacity. Through Brussels Airport, as was the case at many airports, for example, large amounts mouth masks and swaps for tests were imported. Time-critical and more expensive commodities like pharmaceuticals held their ground and were quite important during this pandemic as well, so we saw little change there. In commodities with lower price elasticity like perishables, there was a decrease. As passenger airplanes were not operating, there was much less capacity available on certain markets such as Africa, which of course influenced certain flows to those regions. Though there was a big increase in full cargo flights, they did not necessarily operate on the same routes serving the same markets. Tell us about the best-in-class facilities at the airport to support efficient supply chain operations – cargo handling and storage.
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July 2020
