Air New Zealand says carriage is up 11% on the same period last year showing the growing demand for air freight leading into the holiday period.
The national carrier has shipped around 1.4 million kilograms of blueberries to Australia, and 930,000kg of lamb to the UK. More than 900,000kg of cherries were shipped to Asia, while 1.5 million kg of capsicums were air freighted to Japan, with a further 73,000kg shipped to Australia.
“It’s been an incredible year for New Zealand exports, and we’re proud to have kept trade lanes open throughout the pandemic with the help from the Government’s Maintaining International Air Capacity (MIAC) scheme,” Air New Zealand general manager Anna Palairet says
“For the past two years, our imports have looked a little different, carrying more PPE to support New Zealand’s health response to COVID-19. The likes of sanitisers, gowns, gloves and testing kits have been filling up the belly of our aircraft on route back to Aotearoa. And more recently, it’s been a real privilege to be part of the vaccine rollout to the Pacific Islands.
“Next to our fresh produce exports, we’ve also seen the rise of inbound e-commerce cargo, showing the increasing trend of online shopping and fast fulfilment. Over the next few years, we’ll be focusing on supporting growth for e-commerce customers, while helping to grow our perishable customers into new markets,” she says.
Southern Paprika Limited general manager Blair Morris says Air New Zealand has been a lifeline for their business through the pandemic, allowing them continued access to their important Japanese market.
“The continuation of services gave us the ability to support our long-standing customers who rely on New Zealand fresh product through their winter months. Having the trade links open has allowed us to operate under close to normal conditions and provide ongoing benefits to our staff and wider community,” Morris says.
