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The use of the passenger cabin for cargo, known as cargo-in-the-cabin flights, have been operating since 2020, after the EASA issued approvals and exemptions for the transport of cargo in passenger cabins on a case-by-case basis.

These approvals and exemptions were time-limited and while the EASA extended the rules in August 2021, it will not extend the timeframe again, it said in a statement on April 11.

The decision to allow cargo-in-the-cabin flights followed the grounding of passenger aircraft at the start of the pandemic and the subsequent high demand placed on freighter aircraft. In addition to the use of cargo-in-the-cabin flights (with seats in place and seats removed) the pandemic also saw a number of airfreight stakeholders invest in passenger to freighter aircraft conversions.

However, passenger operations – and therefore the availability of bellyhold capacity – are beginning to ramp up while the need to transport urgent pandemic related cargo such as PPE has eased.

The EASA said it “has concluded that the logistical challenges that arose in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 crisis no longer exist to the same extent”.

In its Issue 6.0 guidelines for “Transport of cargo in passenger compartment – Exemptions under Article 71(1) of regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (The Basic Regulation), published on April 11, it further explained: “Cargo capacity in the holds of passenger aircraft is expected to increase by summer 2022, thus reducing the pressure on the logistic chain.”

The EASA said that in accordance with the guidelines it has “determined that the exemptions delivered in this context will not be extended beyond the current validity of July 31, 2022. The same applies for existing approvals that have been granted based on the use of the Deviation on transportation of cargo in passengers compartments.

“This Deviation can also not be applied to any certification projects for which the approval is issued after that date.”

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last year ruled that from January 2022 the passenger cabins of China-registered aircraft would only be able to carry pandemic-related cargo.

However, contacts have told Air Cargo News that Chinese carriers have continued with cargo in the cabin flights past the deadline.

European regulator extends temporary-freighter exception into 2022

US extends cargo-in-the-cabin exemption

Chinese airlines to refit seats in response to stricter cabin rules

Source: www.aircargonews.net

Image: www.pixibay.com

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With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world’s CO2 emissions. So far, the industry has avoided the EU’s system of pollution charges.

Under proposals announced in July 2021, shipping would be added to the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) from 2023 phased over a three-year period, a move designed to spur emissions cuts from the sector.

A study by environmental group Transport & Environment (T&E) said that the proposals, which will be negotiated in Brussels this year, exclude ships below 5,000 GT (gross tonnage), which include small offshore supply ships that service the oil and gas industries. Fishing and military vessels would also be exempt.

T&E said the loopholes would mean that some 25.8 million tonnes of CO2 would not fall under the ETS, meaning that roughly 20% of the 130 million tonnes emitted annually by shipping in the bloc would be excluded.

Jacob Armstrong, sustainable shipping officer at T&E, said the proposals were “based on arbitrary loopholes” and would let “too many heavily polluting vessels off the hook”.

“The EU must rethink its shipping laws,” he said.

A European Commission official said the 5,000 GT threshold aimed “to minimize administrative burden for companies”, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, “without jeopardizing the objective to cover the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions from the sector”.

Peter Liese, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the ETS reforms, told Reuters that he was looking at the issue raised by T&E ahead of negotiations on the policy.

The Commission official said its proposal was aligned with the emissions covered by an existing regulation on the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of emissions from maritime transport.

Ships above 5,000 GT accounted for around 55% of the vessels calling into EU ports and around 90% of the related emissions, the 2015 MRV regulation showed.

Ship owners will have to buy permits under the ETS when their ships pollute or face possible bans from EU ports.

Source: www.marinelink.com

Image: www.pexels.com

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