Asiana Airlines Transports First Vaccine Finished Products... Will Vaccine-Driven Air Cargo See a Bright Future?

Freight Rates More Than Double Compared to Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] Asiana Airlines has transported the finished product of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine for the first time in Korea. As the global distribution and vaccination of COVID-19 vaccines are gaining momentum, air cargo freight rates are also maintaining high levels compared to the previous year, drawing attention to whether air cargo can be a boon to the aviation industry facing a crisis next year.

According to the aviation industry on the 29th, Asiana Airlines transported the first domestic finished vaccine product on the 25th and the same day via cargo flights from Incheon to Moscow, Russia. The vaccine is the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology under the Russian Ministry of Health, and the quantity was contract-manufactured by the Korean pharmaceutical company Korea Corus.

Considering the characteristics of Sputnik V, which requires storage and transport at minus 20 degrees Celsius, Asiana Airlines devoted great effort to maintaining the cold chain (frozen and refrigerated transport system) throughout the entire process from the production plant to the Incheon cargo terminal, aircraft, and Moscow cargo terminal.

As COVID-19 vaccine distribution and vaccination have begun in major countries such as the UK and the US, demand for related air cargo is gradually increasing. Korean Air also transported COVID-19 vaccine raw materials to the Netherlands and Japan on the 8th and 16th, respectively.

The industry has high expectations for vaccine transportation. While sequential introduction is scheduled in Korea from the first half of next year, there are companies in Korea, such as SK Bioscience, that contract-manufacture vaccines for global pharmaceutical companies, so future transportation demand can also be anticipated.

The freight rate outlook is not bad either. According to the TAC Air Freight Index, as of the 21st, the air cargo freight rate on the Hong Kong-North America route was $8.08 per kilogram, about 125% higher than the previous year. This is due to the ongoing shortage of cargo supply triggered by the suspension of passenger flights caused by COVID-19. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) also analyzed that as of October, air cargo supply decreased by 22.6% year-on-year based on cargo ton-kilometers (ACTKs).

The industry believes that it will be difficult to expect a 'V-shaped recovery' in air passenger demand next year, so even if air freight rates are adjusted downward, they are expected to remain at a higher level than the previous year due to supply shortages. A representative of a national airline said, "It is true that in the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, domestic production of quarantine supplies such as masks greatly helped increase cargo sales," adding, "With the aviation industry outlook expected to worsen next year compared to this year, if vaccine production increases in China or domestically, related revenue growth can ultimately be expected."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.