CharterSync sees rapid growth as UK air cargo operators grapple with EU permit process

CharterSync, the air cargo charter platform, has seen significant growth since 1st January as UK air cargo operators have struggled to cope with the challenge of securing post-Brexit UK-EU flight permits. CharterSync, which connects freight forwarders with cargo and executive jet operators, handled 183 flights and 750 tons of cargo across Europe in January 2021, a 33% increase on volumes in December 2020.

Ed Gillett, co-founder and director of CharterSync, says: “Air cargo charter has never been more vital to European supply chains, given the pandemic and new border friction. Ironically, however, life has become much more difficult for UK cargo airlines because of the lack of reciprocal flight permit agreements with the EU. We’ve been able to help airlines manage their extra workload, both through our efficient end-to-end booking technology and by our operations teams helping with permit applications. In one 48-hour period last month we booked 27 flights, which was a new record.”

In addition to its existing popularity with automotive customers, CharterSync has seen rising demand from the pharmaceutical sector, with time-critical bookings for Covid-19 vaccines, syringes and PPE. The company handled bookings across 21 different aircraft types in January, from executive jets up to regional freighter aircraft.

“Our growth partly reflects the breadth of aircraft joining the CharterSync platform, including some of the newest and most sought-after aircraft types,” says Gillett. “We’re already offering the new Saab 340 freighter from RVL Group and were the first company to offer ad-hoc charter on Titan Airways’ newly delivered A321 freighter last month.”

Alastair Willson, managing director of Titan Airways, says: “We have recently added the first of three Airbus A321 freighters to our fleet and its first booking was through CharterSync. We have since performed a number of successful CharterSync flights using the A321F and Boeing 737-300F. These flights have come at a challenging time, as the current requirement to obtain permissions to fly between the UK and EU is slowing time-critical cargo movements, which is damaging to our business and our customers’ businesses. Urgent work is needed to simplify this process.”

David Lacy, head of commercial at RVL Group, says: “Our new Saab 340B freighter is the largest aircraft in our fleet. Putting it on CharterSync’s platform was a quick and obvious commercial decision for us and it was no surprise that our first ad-hoc charter with the aircraft was booked via CharterSync. We are a versatile, flexible business and CharterSync supports our aim to get the most from this aircraft at a time when urgent cargo charters are of such vital support to the UK’s  pharmaceutical and automotive sectors.”