Challenges in Air Cargo Industry

AIR CARGO SUPPLY CHAIN 1
AIR CARGO SUPPLY CHAIN
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AIR CARGO SUPPLY CHAIN 2
Introduction
The United Kingdom is one of the globally recognised nations when it comes to air cargo
business. Like other cargo businesses in other nations, cargo business in the United Kingdom is
also going through challenges that limit its development. The cargo business depends on airports,
the capital is huge, and getting a suitable location of an airport might be a challenge at times.
Investing in the cargo business is a challenge because of the high costs of investments. An
industry grows when many business persons choose to invest in the industry. However, when
there are reasons that restrict them from investing, the industry is not likely to grow.
1. Analyse the main factors helping or restricting air cargo development in the United
Kingdom
a. Location
Location is one of the main factors that restrict air cargo development in the United
Kingdom. The shareholders in the air cargo industry depend on the infrastructure that has already
been developed by the government or other private entities. The location of an airport is essential
to an airline that deals with cargos (Oster and Strong, 2017). The reason behind it is because this
is an airline that is delivering goods to customers; therefore, the location must be strategic. When
the establishment of airports takes place in locations that are not suitable for the market that is
targeted, an airline that deals with cargo is not likely to utilise the airport and that restricts the
business of the airline (Tao, Chew, Lee, and Wang, 2017). In this case, it is evident that the
location will be restricting the investors to do business. For an industry to develop, the investors
should be promoted to invest more in the location. When there are more investors in an industry,
the circulation of money increases and that promotes the growth of the industry. However, when

AIR CARGO SUPPLY CHAIN 3
there are restrictions in the industry, the investors are discouraged, and their withdrawal from the
industry delays or stops the growth of the industry.
b. Delays
The time that a cargo takes to reach customers is essential. Most of the customers who
choose air cargo do so because they need their goods to be delivered without delays. When an
airport has delays, the goods of the customers take long before getting to the customers (Su,
Meng, Pickett, Seto, Ritz, and Jerrett, 2016). In some airports, there are delays that affect all
aeroplanes that use specific airports. Due to the sensitivity of some of the products that are
transported using aeroplanes, customers might be frustrated when their goods do not reach to
them at the time that they expected. Such frustrations lead to customers looking for an alternative
method of transport, and that affects the development of the Air Cargo industry. Delivery of
quality services is vital, and this is why it is more likely for an airline to avoid airports that have
slow processes of clearing goods.
c. Infrastructure
Infrastructure is also another factor that affects the development of air cargo in the United
Kingdom. Airports are central destinations of cargos. It, therefore, means that after the cargo has
been delivered at an airport, it is expected to be transported to different destinations.
Infrastructure, in this case, is essential from the perspective of the customers and the airlines
(Vardi and Ghorbanian, 2018). Customers who ship products that are delicate are likely to be
considerate of the infrastructure (lo Storto, 2017). Infrastructure affects the time that a cargo
takes to reach the customer. If the infrastructure is good, the time that a cargo takes to reach a
customer is short. However, when the infrastructure is not good, it might take longer to transport

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the cargo from the airport to the customer’s stipulated destination. At the same time, the cargo
companies are restricted because the demand for airlifting the cargo of the customers to the
specific location reduces significantly, thus limiting the operations of the airline that is involved.
d. Environment
Environmental factors also affect the development of air cargo. In air travel, the weather is
taken seriously because it might affect the handling and controlling of an aeroplane. When the
weather is not favourable for air travel, cargo aeroplanes are forced to delay their flight, and that
affects the delivery of services (Wu, Chen, and Tsau, 2017). Due to the fact that the weather
affects the operations of air cargo, it becomes a challenge to grow and to develop.
e. Government legislation
Government legislation affects development in terms of operating hours. Airports have rules
and regulations that come from governments, and each of the rules has to be followed to the
letter. Some of the rules restrict operating hours, and that means that an aeroplane cannot make
delivery as it wishes (Kupfer, Meersman, Onghena, and Van de Voorde, 2017). When an airline
is restricted from operating as it wishes, it cannot develop, and this is because its working hours
are limited.
2. Compare and contrast the factors that have affected air cargo growth in the United
Kingdom and other major air cargo hubs (e.g., Hong Kong, Anchorage, or Dubai)
Location is a factor that affects the growth of air cargo hubs in the United Kingdom and other
major air hubs. Location is prominent in any care hub, and this is because of the factors that
location brings to the picture. When an airport is closer to the market, more air cargo companies