newstodate.aero
Jan 20, 2021 (newstodate): The need for better air services agreements with Russia is key to the sustained development of seafood air logistics solutions serving Norway's exporters.
In a fresh report published by Avinor in January 2021, Seafood Logistics to Markets Beyond Europe, this issue is again highlighted.
Underlying the assessment of future growth potentials is the access to the Siberian lanes on eastbound flights to Asian export markets, the report states.
-Lack of access due to political issues will increase costs and environmental impact. Today, only three out of 24 weekly eastbound cargo flights from Oslo carrying seafood enjoy access to these lanes.
-This will especially impact the variable transportation costs that constitute some 50 percent of total costs. The additional flight distance will increase fuel consumption and environmental costs, as well as negatively affecting aircraft payloads over long distances.
-As one example, a routing south of Moscow on flights from Banak Lakselv Airport to Seoul will be 43 percent longer than with a routing via the Sibir corridor, increasing fuel consumption by 27 tonnes, and reducing the payload on a Boeing 777F by some 27 percent, translating into a rise in per-kilo rates, the report states.
The issue of Norwegian Sibir overflight rights has long been on the agenda - with little result.
The three Scandinavian countries negotiate air services agreements and other aviation policy issues with other countries jointly, with Norway in charge of negotiations with Russia.
Norwegian voices have, however, repeatedly been calling for Norway to quit the joint Scandinavian approach to negotiate instead own air traffic rights with Russia in an effort to fight off the alleged vested interests of the Scandinavian carrier SAS that is today the only airline designated on the Scandinavian side.
This situation may be further boosted by the fact that in contrast to the two other Scandinavian stakeholders, Norway sold its stake in SAS in 2019.