SINGAPORE – Changi Airport flies high in air cargo flow again, with two years of pandemic-induced global disruption giving way to growing demand fueled by supply chain disruptions and a buying boom in line.

According to data provided by Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Friday, December 31, the total air cargo throughput from January to November 2021 reached 1.76 million tonnes – 96% of the 1.84 million tonnes reached during the same period before the 2019 pandemic.

It was also a 26% jump from the 1.4 million tonnes moved from January to November 2020, when throughput for the entire year fell to 1.54 million tonnes – from 2.01 million tonnes in 2019 – at the height of pandemic restrictions and lockdowns around the world.

The CAG noted that the throughput for September and October of last year exceeded 2019 benchmarks, with aerial imports and exports from January to November of last year exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 8%. .

Imports, exports and air transshipments are the main components of air cargo movements.

As of the first week of December 2021, Changi Airport registered some 1,000 weekly scheduled and charter cargo flights – including passenger planes converted to carry cargo in their holds – connecting the hub to more than 70 cities.

This is an increase of more than three times compared to December 2019.

Last year, more than 50 passenger airlines launched more than 23,000 freight-only flights to and from Changi Airport.

There were more than 540 weekly cargo-only flights in the first week of December, a 72% increase from December 2019.

The introduction of new cargo operators at Changi Airport over the past two years has helped minimize supply chain disruptions by supporting the flow of essential goods such as personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals and food supplies, CAG said.

More recently, on December 25, South Korean low-cost airline Air Premia launched a weekly flight from Incheon City to Singapore using converted passenger planes to bring in Covid-19 test kits, products of electronic commerce, fabrics and agricultural products, including strawberries.

Outbound freight includes perfumes, cosmetics, food products, and electronic parts.

Air imports and exports between Singapore and South Korea increased by 6% for the period January to November of last year, compared to 2019.

Air Premia follows the addition of Australian Tasman Cargo in June and Indian SpiceJet in February last year, as well as Chinese YTO Cargo in November 2020 and US airline Kalitta in April earlier. this year.

There was also the re-establishment of regular cargo flights in 2020 by the Chinese company SF Airlines in August and Turkish Cargo in October.