All quotes to be attributed to Angus Hind, Director of Europa Air & Sea:
“Today’s closure of Heathrow (Europe’s busiest and the UK’s biggest airport) is going to have a profound impact on supply chains for days, and potentially weeks, to come.
“With more than 1,000 flights to and from London Heathrow being rerouted or cancelled, this day of closure hugely disrupts both the carriers’ schedules and the general day to day operation of the airport. No cargo is scheduled to land today and even if the airport reopens this evening as planned, we will see disruption for days ahead.
“Airline handling facilities are operating as normal, so airline transfers from European hubs/UK airports will continue to arrive on the ground and be processed as normal, however, we will need to be patient as these facilities work through the backlog of freight while flights start to arrive.
“For us in the industry, I would expect this disruption to continue throughout the next week. Due to Ramadan, poised for the end of March, we are operating at higher volumes of trade to and from the Middle East currently. Europa Air & Sea has proactive and reactive teams based both in the UK (at Heathrow Airport) and in Dubai, who are supporting all customers impacted. As the situation continues to unfold, we are well placed globally to help.”
Europa Air & Sea is a global supply chain specialist, part of one of the largest British independent logistics operators Europa Worldwide Group. With strategic sites across the UK, Hong Kong, Dubai, Shanghai, Shenzhen and India, the company is well placed to service its international customer base. With a worldwide agent network and a proprietary software solution, LeoWeb, Europa provides customers with complete visibility, tracking and order management facilities.