Air Charter Service has been inundated with requests for charters relating to the travel disruption caused by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus throughout China and Asia. Commercial director Justin Lancaster comments: “Since the outbreak our offices around the world have been arranging flights on local charter aircraft as the world deals with the travel disruption and overall cut to capacity to the region. We have flown everything from four passengers on a private jet, to hundreds on larger aircraft, to 100 tonnes of surgical masks – it has been all systems go since the epidemic was first reported.

“Some customers have tried to avoid infection by flying with their families on private jets to avoid travelling on commercial aircraft with a large amount of people, whereas several organisations, as well as governments, have evacuated en masse on larger aircraft, such as an Airbus A380.

“We have flown in various types of relief cargo for the country; protective overalls, medical gloves and millions of surgical masks.

“We have faced various challenges in booking the flights, including customers requesting crew that had not been to China since the beginning of January; clients not willing to put their cargo on aircraft that have recently been to the region; obtaining diplomatic permits; and staff from our three regional offices working from home, to minimise their risk of infection. Our US, European and Middle East offices have all also been involved in bookings.”

On its website, as of 12 February, the company advises that the majority of airlines are no longer flying into mainland China, and many countries are denying entry to travellers travelling from mainland China, as well as those who have transited through China or visited within the last few weeks.

Many charter operators are now refusing to fly, and Chinese operators may have limited capacity due to the extension of the Chinese new year holiday. Permits for international carriers will be required, which can take up to seven days although ACS has recently seen a Chinese permit granted within 24 hours, and charters to and from Wuhan will almost certainly need diplomatic assistance to be granted permits.

“Perhaps our biggest challenge is ensuring that all government and medical advice is followed to prevent spreading infection,” he continues. “One week we had to cancel four flights due to changes in regulations in certain countries.”
Advice from the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority suggests that the situation is fluid.