As more flights are going out to Asian destinations just before the Chinese New Year, Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson says it’s a peak period for exports: “This is a huge boost for South Island exporters, getting their product out to these key markets is absolutely critical and a lot of this product is going to meet the Chinese New Year.”
However, with the aviation industry still scaling back up to pre-Covid levels, finding space to transport the cargo has been difficult. Watson: “Generally 90% of freight goes in the belly hold of passenger aircraft, passenger aircraft are only back to about 60% so there's a shortage of capacity and so what we've got here is dedicated freighters.”
In total the services will transport 800 tons of high value exports including live lobsters, oysters and fresh cherries. According to Craig Hall, Chairman of Summerfruit exporters, the extra flights have been a big help: “It's given the industry way more flexibility with the volume that it can get away regularly.”
The cargo’s processed at Mainfreight’s facility. It’s stored at zero degrees to maintain freshness and can arrive anywhere between 48 hours and six hours prior to the plane departing.
Source: 1news.co.nz