Challenges and Recommendations for the Air Cargo Industry in the UK

1
INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Name
Institution
Date

2
Introduction
The air cargo industry is one that face similar challenges as the other major airports in the
world. Some factors have positive effects on cargo transportation while others bear negative
effects. Some of the general factors affecting the air cargo industry include; location which
encompasses operational availability, competition, local demand and geographical location,
airport quality which encompasses factors as labor availability and cost, airport user charges,
infrastructure, ground access and congestion and delays. Other factors include, bilateral
agreements, legislation of government, behavioral variables, and restrictions of the environment
and freight forwarders. Some of the common factors are below;
Security
Security is also another huge area of concern in the development of airport security. That
is because of the fact that it affects the preference of consumers of air services. Most people
would opt for other transportation means when airport security is at stake. In the process, the air
transport business is affected negatively. The case of the 9/11 attack served as a great threat to
the airline industry not only in US but in major airports around the globe. People were worried
and afraid for their lives while taking air transportation. That took a big toll on the psychological
safety of passengers. The European Aviation Society in Brussels noted a drop in the North
Atlantic air cargo traffic by 35%. There was also a huge drop in air traffic in the dates of
September 11th and 4th of November for the European traffic rate. (Wensveen 2018). The recent
events in UK that were reported in the news media led to dramatic security practices changes and
freedom of passengers. Customers always have the fear that major security attacks may happen
again, at any time. Terrorism prevent the freedom of consumers to move both physically and

3
psychologically. The psychological negative effect of terrorism not only affects the movement of
people from place to place but also undermines the performance of businesses in a great deal.
Stiff Competition
The European neighbors have a better road/rail infrastructure than the UK’s because of
the high population density in UK. However, the UK’s population has registered a huge uptake
of the consumption of other modes of transportation like the rail and role transportation. The
nature of competition is no longer limited to the air cargo industries but has expanded to rail and
road. In the past, people used to prefer the use of air transport because there was no alternatively
fast means of transportation (Morrell 2016). However, the arrival of high speed trains have given
consumers the option of using trains as opposed to catching flights. Most consumers view train
transportation as the safer mode of transportation because through their track record, accidents
are minimum (Albers et al. 2017). Another advantage of using the high speed trains is that there
is no need to follow logistical procedures like preparing for a air ticket and other long
procedures. Customers find it very convenient especially with the fact that the use of the high
speed trains as a means of transportation is more affordable than air transportation. There has
also been a huge expansion of air industry unlike in the recent past. Owing to that, more and
more airports, airlines and air cargo industries have formed, creating a huge level of
independence from the UK airlines. Some airline companies have better airport quality that the
UK’s creating a huge level of competition.
Airports Quality
There has been a huge disruption in the air cargo industry because of the recent
investments in the ongoing runways. In that case, manufacturers are in the process of developing

4
planes with large capacity that have the ability of accommodating hundreds of passengers while
other manufacturers have chosen the smaller types of planes which bear a higher flexibility in its
usage. However, the problem occured when the latest model of Boeing jet presented restrictions
in the runways numbers. That created a need for the construction of additional runways which
take a lot of years for their completion, creating a considerable amount of disruptions. The
disruptions comes about as a result of the need to inject a lot of resources and time into the
projects.
There are normally considerations for safety that are relative to landing numbers and
take-off that are permitted at any flight corridor or airport. The problems with capacity will limit
the ability of handling additional numbers of passengers in airports that are crowded and may
also stagnate the growth in major prime destinations.
Environment Issues/Regulations
Environmental lobbyists normally mount increasing pressures on the air cargo companies
for the implementation of the right measures to curb environmental pollution through hazardous
emissions and disposals. The lobbyists have positive and good intentions in their actions but the
problem arises when it forces industries, especially the air cargo industries to suddenly comply
with tough rules and legislations for fuel efficiency and lower emissions. Such pressures are
normally felt through the reengineering of engine designs and other aeroplane parts, manufacture
of modern aircrafts bearing efficient fuel consumption and quietness.
Comparison of factors
Security Filings