GEODIS adds air, rail services to meet customer demand hit by Covid-19

March 20, 2020: GEODIS has established a number of air charter services to assist customers with urgent shipments during the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. In addition, rail alternatives are being offered to/from China.

The majority of GEODIS offices across China are operating with normal capacity except in Wuhan where it will not reopen until March 20 and Beijing & Tianjin where they are only allowed to arrange partial resumption due to local regulations.

Whilst ocean freight continues to be disrupted and air cargo options severely restricted by established carriers cancelling scheduled flights, GEODIS is providing alternative means to move customers’ cargoes between China and Europe as well as on Transatlantic routes.

The first of the air charter services departed from Frankfurt (Germany) on a one-way to Shanghai on February 12. In order to facilitate the resurgence in westbound freight out of China, GEODIS quickly followed up on February 21 with the first round trip service departing from Liege (Belgium), again with the destination Shanghai Pudong International. As of February 28, weekly round trip flights were established from Frankfurt with Shanghai departures each Tuesday. This schedule will remain in place throughout the month of March when consideration of a further extension will be made and is being complemented by flights from Hong Kong to Europe.

GEODIS has continued with its newly introduced direct, dedicated service from Hong Kong to Guadalajara, Mexico, through March. The next flight will depart Hong Kong on March 22.

GEODIS also maintains its offering of rail solutions from major cities in China. Two options are scheduled from Xi’an and Chongqing to the German destinations of Hamburg and Duisburg. The standard services have an 18-day transit time and from Xi’an to Hamburg, an express, 12-day solution is provided.

Immediately following the decision by US authorities to close its borders to visitors from Europe and to prepare for the consequent sharp decrease in commercial cargo capacity, the company established a return air charter programme linking Amsterdam and Chicago on four flights a week schedule. The first flight from Amsterdam will be on March 21.

Onno Boots, GEODIS CEO for Asia Pacific region shared, “We are positively building on our capabilities as a key supply chain partner to our customers by responding to their needs for an undisrupted supply chain through strengthening our capabilities in air freight, with the inclusion of these new services. We hope our prompt response with these quick solutions will continue to assure our global customers that GEODIS is committed to ensuring we deliver the quality of service they have come to rely upon from us.”

To further assist customers during this period of disruption, GEODIS is issuing a daily advisory bulletin on the coronavirus outbreak.