Moving/transporting goods/cargo by air, within a country (domestic), within a region (regional) or across continents (international) is known as Airfreight. Basically, any revenue generating goods/cargo transported by aircrafts, from point A to point B is called Airfreight. Though it is a costly mode of transport, Airfreight plays a vital role in moving goods/cargo such as – essential items, time critical cargo, medicines & medical equipment, lifesaving drugs & equipment, high value goods, fresh food & cut flowers and emergency response items/food/equipment, etc.

History of Airfreight:

The first recorded air cargo flight took place in 1910 when an airplane carried 200 pounds of silk across USA , and in 1919 the first scheduled international air cargo and mail flights began in Europe using an early converted aircraft. In 1925, the Ford Motor Company in USA established the first regular scheduled commercial cargo airline. However, only Post-World War 11 (1945), dedicated commercial all-cargo airlines and scheduled Airfreight services truly took off.    

Types of aircrafts used for Airfreight:

• Passenger Aircraft – Cargo/goods can be transported in passenger planes. In passenger aircrafts, cargo is loaded and stacked in the Bely hold, where the passenger’s personal baggage is also held. Airfreight capacity in a passenger plane is limited, since the majority of the space is the passenger deck is carrying hundreds of passengers, depending on the type of aircraft. Also, it has to give priority for passenger’s personal baggage, which also take much space of the cargo hold.
• Cargo Aircraft known as Freighter – In a cargo plane, the whole aircraft is dedicated to carry cargo/goods, which is known as the Freighter. Hence, the Airfreight capacity of a Freighter is very much greater, as it carries only cargo/goods. Larger Freighters could carry up to hundreds of Tonnes and Cubic Meters (CBM) of cargo/goods. Freighters also, can carry oversized and over dimensional cargo/items across the continents.

The most significant feature of Airfreight is, it is the fastest mode of transport of cargo/goods. If it is, domestic destinations, regional destinations or international destinations, Airfreight can be moved within hours compared to other modes of transport which may take days, weeks or months depending on the distance between the Origin and Destination. Therefore, Airfreight play a major role in International Trade to move cargo/goods which need fast transit times, high value goods which needs high security, and time critical cargo such as lifesaving medicines & medical equipment. Furthermore, Airfreight becomes essential and the most sought-after mode of transport, to move various types of cargo/goods/items/vehicles/machinery which need urgent transportation to face emergency situations such as natural disasters and unexpected disruptions and threats to lives & property, across the continents.

In most of the above situations, higher Airfreight costs cannot be compared with other modes of transport, due to the urgent need of the cargo/goods. Hence, sometimes it becomes the most vital and only mode of transport option that can meet the demand, according to the requirements and situations.

There are some ways to mitigate the high transportation costs in Airfreight, whilst meeting the fast transportation needs. A good option is the Muti Modal Transport solution, which combines Sea Freight with Airfreight. One part of the journey is shipped by sea, and other part of the journey is shipped by air. This popularly known Sea-Air Transport moves under a Single Contract of Carriage – Multi Modal Transport Bill of Lading, and this solution is much faster than Sea Freight, and yet much cheaper than Airfreight.

For e.g.: Colombo, Sri Lanka to Dubai, UAE by container ship (transit time 4-5 days), destuff the container in Dubai (1 day), and ship the goods by aircraft from Dubai, UAE to Europe (transit time 1-2 days).

In many parts of the world, there are lot of popular sea-air hubs which has greater connectivity by both Container Shipping Lines and Airlines. Sea-Air Transport option is a very popular shipping mode, from Colombo, Sri Lanka via Dubai, UAE to Europe/UK/USA/Canada and many other destinations in the West.

The demand for Airfreight is ever growing, as the world trade has evolved with concepts like Just-In-Time and importers maintain only a minimum level of inventory. Hence, Airfreight play a major role in Supply Chain Management, to have an uninterrupted supply of important goods such as food, medicines, etc. Furthermore, whenever there are disruptions in the sea freight routes, ports, hubs and maritime choke-points, Airfreight becomes an important alternative shipping option and the demand increase.  

Statistics:

• In 2025, the demand for Airfreight grew by 3.4% over the previous year, and carried a total of appx. 69 MILLION TONNES, recording a USD 142 BILLION in revenue.
• This tonnage was moved – 58% by dedicated Freighters in the main decks, and balance 42% in the Bely holds of commercial passenger aircrafts.
• Current total aircraft fleet in operation, in the world – appx. 2,400 Freighters, and appx. 30,000 active commercial passenger aircrafts. 

At MendisOne, through our Logistics Services arm – Premium Trading and Logistics, provide Airfreight Services across the globe with the collaboration with Airlines and global logistics partners. We provide – reliable, cost-efficient, multiple solutions in Airfreight, which ensures our customers valuable and urgent shipments reach the right place at the right time.