Last night (06 October 2020) the Australian Federal Government handed down its annual budget. We note the allocation of an additional A$317 million to extend the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) until 30 June 2021. Our industry representative bodies had been calling for additional funds to be allocated to maintain IFAM, JobKeeper and similar financial relief measures to support the air cargo supply chain sector until the end of 2021 (at minimum).
Meanwhile, in Geneva yesterday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that the airline industry will burn through US$77 billion in cash during the second half of 2020 (almost US$13 billion/month or $300,000 per minute), despite the restart of operations. The slow industry recovery will see the airline industry continuing to eat up cash at an average rate of $5 to $6 billion per month in 2021.
IATA called on governments to support the industry globally. According to the latest figures, the downturn threatens 4.8 million jobs across the entire aviation sector. Because each aviation job supports many more in the broader economy, the global impact is 46 million potential job losses and US$1.8 trillion dollars of economic activity at risk.
In the centre of Australia, the Alice Springs ‘aircraft boneyard’ is almost reaching its new expanded capacity of 100 aircraft. The Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (APAS) maintenance facility at Alice Springs in the Northern Territory is chosen by airlines because its low levels of rainfall/humidity and distance from coastal salty air reduce corrosion. Extra staff are on-hand to carry out the 100-plus maintenance tasks per year required to keep aircraft operational. APAS has also opened a second storage site at Toowoomba Wellcamp airport, which has already received Virgin aircraft.
Colless Young is a licensed Customs Broker and International Freight Forwarder based in Brisbane. We offer professional service for all your imports and exports, both airfreight and seafreight, at all Australian ports and airports. We cover all aspects of logistics, including clearance of cargo through customs and quarantine, warehousing and trucking.
