"Relieving the Logistics Crisis"... KITA and Asiana Airlines Support 'Dedicated Cargo Passenger Planes for SMEs'

Scheduled a total of 3 flights by the end of the year
Incheon-Frankfurt operation

A350 Cargo-Only Passenger Aircraft
Photo by Asiana Airlines

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announced on the 10th that it has signed a 'Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Air Transport Support Project Agreement' with Asiana Airlines to promote win-win cooperation between large and small-to-medium enterprises, and plans to operate three dedicated cargo passenger flights for SMEs by the end of the year.

The cargo passenger flights will depart from Incheon on November 23, December 7, and December 21, respectively, heading to Frankfurt, Germany. KITA is accepting applications for the first flight departure through its website. The deadline is 2 PM on the 19th.

This agreement was promoted to resolve difficulties faced by the trade industry, which were reported to the 'Public-Private Joint Export-Import Logistics Comprehensive Response Center' involving the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KITA.

Recently, with reduced aircraft operations due to COVID-19, a sharp rise in ocean freight rates, intensified shortage of sea transport space, and increased demand for air cargo have combined to exhaust air cargo capacity to major countries such as the U.S. and Europe.

According to the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) on the 5th of this month, ocean freight rates on the Shanghai-Europe route reached 7,637 USD/TEU, more than six times higher than the same period last year (1,246 USD/TEU). According to the TAC Index, air freight rates also recorded 7.85 USD/kg, about a 50% increase compared to the same period last year (5.27 USD/kg).

KITA expects that this support with Asiana Airlines will provide relief to Korean SMEs, as securing export routes becomes increasingly difficult amid the global logistics crisis and the year-end peak season including the U.S. Black Friday and Christmas.

Kim Kwang-seok, Vice President of Asiana Airlines, said, "We hope this will be of some help to SMEs struggling with year-end and New Year exports," adding, "We will continue to seek various ways to support our companies."

Shin Seung-kwan, Executive Director of KITA, emphasized, "As securing cargo space becomes more difficult toward the end of the year, Asiana Airlines' dedicated cargo passenger flight support for SMEs will be a strong support for our SMEs."

KITA and Asiana Airlines are also considering an air transport support project for Korean SMEs located in Vietnam, who are experiencing difficulties with air transport from Vietnam.

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