European postal, parcel and express operators flying small shipments to the US face a severe drop in bellyhold capacity next week as President Trump effectively bans European travellers over coronavirus fears and airlines cut passenger flights in response.
The US administration has banned passengers from EU member states in the Schengen zone, including heavily-populated countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain, with effect from midnight on Friday (March 13) for a period of 30 days. However, the UK has been excluded so far.
According to IATA, about 125,000 people fly on average every day on 550 flights between the USA and Schengen Area countries. In 2019, there were 46 million passengers in total on about 200,000 flights.
In response to the dramatic US move, many continental European airlines are quickly cancelling passenger flights. For example, from March 14, Lufthansa Group will maintain only six of its current 313 connections between Europe and the USA while Air France and KLM will also only operate a few of their normal scheduled flights.
US airlines such as American Airlines, Delta and United, with about 200 daily flights to Europe, will also be seriously affected.
With passenger services carrying the vast majority of international mail, parcel and freight shipments on transatlantic routes, these dramatic cutbacks mean a sudden loss of bellyhold capacity next week with few quick alternatives.
Industry experts are speculating that many shipments will be trucked to the UK and then flown on transatlantic services from there. One almost certain impact will be a sharp rise in air freight rates between Europe and the USA due to the capacity shortage.
Meanwhile, FedEx has confirmed that the US government restrictions do not affect its European cargo flights. “The FedEx network will continue to support trade between the U.S. and Europe,” a statement said.
