Time to unbuckle your seatbelts. Valentine’s Day and International Women’s Day are behind us, and the merchandise for Mother’s Day in the UK has also shipped by now. While this may not have been a peak season to remember in terms of demand and price formation, it was a top season logistically. Finally, there was sufficient air transport available again. How we longed for that as a sector after three years of misery and shortages!
Even the kilogram rates were somewhat more bearable compared to last year. The only carrier that has continued to mess things up for months on end is our Dutch national pride, KLM. Maintenance backlogs, delays, cancelled flights and danger due to volcanic activity. It is always something with them. The only certainty being that they never ever fly according to schedule. But apart from that, logistical handling has finally returned to normal.
What has never failed us in all those years, is the new airport at Quito. New? Well, not quite. Last month marked the celebration of its tenth anniversary, and what a success it has been! By now, the airport welcomes well over 5 million passengers per year. Meanwhile it has been earning one international award after the other. It has become one of the largest cargo airports in the region. At the new airport flowers make up a staggering 92 percent of all cargo, followed by fruits.