The impact of the airspace closure across northern Europe due to the volcanic ash cloud on fresh produce could be severe and last for “at least a fortnight”, according to the Freight Transport Association (FTA).
The FTA’s head of global supply chain policy Christopher Snelling said certain fresh produce such as exotic fruits and fresh flowers are starting to become noticeable by their absence from supermarket shelves.
He said: “Even if British airspace opened up immediately, it would take a fortnight to clear the backlog of airfreight destined for the UK, so we already face an unprecedented logistical challenge.
“Of course, for fresh produce, this could simply be too long a wait and some will simply have to be destroyed.
“Producers in Africa are being particularly badly hit - in some areas of the continent 90 per cent of fruit, flowers and vegetable exports to Europe are delivered by air.
“With more than one million African farmers reliant on the UK consumption of their fruit and vegetables, UK holidaymakers are not the only ones watching the skies.”
The unprecedented closure of UK airspace is also taking its toll on other sectors, with the major parcel carriers already turning to road transport as an alternative for domestic and European deliveries.
While the volume of goods transported by air is relatively small, airfreighted goods account for around a quarter of the value of goods moved in and out of the UK.
While freight forwarders are doing their utmost to maintain levels of service, the airspace shutdown will doubtless have a detrimental effect on businesses and consumers.
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