Copenhagen Airport: E-comm logistics should not remain a wild-west business

(newstodate): At Copenhagen Airport, the volume of belly cargo is growing steeply in 2024. Compared to 2023, belly cargo volumes on legacy carriers increased by no less than 44 percent in January-September 2024, to 98,034 tonnes - almost on a par with total belly cargo loads handled all through 2023. ???

-To a very large degree, this reflects the sustained rise in e-comm shipments, says Lars Gotfredsen, Copenhagen Airport Snr Air Cargo Manager. ???

-E-comm companies buy growing lots of capacity on legacy carriers, and global estimates are that this traffic will take more than half of all capacity in the market. Copenhagen Airport expects this to continue further in 2025, increasing the challenge on Customs and VET control of imports. We are however seeing this development in a positive light, as it is unquestionably preferable to have e-comm imports flown directly into the airport, rather than having it flown into less-regulated environments at for instance East European airports for onward cross-border trucking into the market. ??

-Pending the introduction of EU regulations of this e-comm traffic, the Danish authorities including Customs and VET have already come a long way towards implementing ever-stricter control of incoming e-comm shipments. ???

-The task is however huge; one legacy carrier may arrive with cargo on, say, 40 MWBs with eight to ten HWBs eventually comprising up to 60,000 individual lines reflecting goods to some 60,000 individual e-comm customers. A huge task to enforce a full control of each shipment. ???

-At Copenhagen Airport the authorities have so far managed to control up to 4-5,000 individual shipments, and the rate is growing steeply as experience builds up and systems are developed. We are therefore rather confident that we will be able to cope with the situation even as volumes continue to rise. ???

-E-comm logistics should not remain a wild-west business; cross-national regulation and harmonization is absolutely to be welcomed, says Mr Gotfredsen.