Cargo Chat Edition 11

Unexpected Interuptions

The grounding of SA Express flights at the end of April when the Civil Aviation Authority suspended their Air Operating Certificate shows how unexpected interruptions to service can happen to any operator. Most transport segments have builtin recovery time facilitating a Plan B: the express parcel industry operates minute-to-minute and any delay results in red alert. So what are the perils that can interrupt service delivery. “You name it, it can happen without warning even to the best maintained aircraft fleet,” reports Karl Davids, Chief Operating Office of BidAir Cargo. “International and local safety and security regulations are complex, stringent and strictly policed. If something isn’t right, a flight may be delayed. Even well-maintained aircraft can “go technical”. Fleets are tightly configured and it is prohibitively expensive to keep spare aircraft and crews on standby “just-in-case” as customers could not absorb the cost.