Catriona Taylor, Group Passenger Operations Director at Chapman Freeborn

“The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a huge impact in the world of passenger transportation. During the initial days we were inundated with requests to assist passengers from far and wide to help bring them home to their families. With the boarders all closing governments and individuals were all desperately looking for solutions to return home. The wide body passenger fleets were kept very busy during this period as the majority of flights being operated were long haul. Prices for charters remained high due to the demand. One of the biggest sectors hit by the pandemic was sadly the cruise ship industry where we saw huge demand to fly passengers and crews home. The number of flights and requests was quite astonishing.

Since then many countries have begun to go into lockdown bringing in measures such as 14 day quarantine, landings only approved at a government level. This has led to difficulties in obtaining permits to land in countries, routes that usually would appear simple have become difficult. However working with the government agencies and with our experienced operations teams we managed to find solutions. Prices have now started to drop as airlines look to keep flying as much as possible.

The widebody passenger market has now adapted to the requirements in the market by turning passenger cabins into freighter cabins allowing them to utilise the soaring demand for PPE equipment from China.”

About Chapman Freeborn:

The Chapman Freeborn group was established in the UK in 1973. The company has offices worldwide including North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. In the cargo market, Chapman Freeborn Airchartering specialises in the charter and lease of aircraft for a wide-ranging customer base, including freight forwarders, multinational corporations, governments, humanitarian agencies and a host of industries around the globe. In addition to freight services, Chapman Freeborn offers specialist passenger services including private jet charters for executive travel and large aircraft for crew rotations and international group travel.

Chapman Freeborn is a family member of Avia Solutions Group, the largest aerospace business group from Central & Eastern Europe with 83 offices and production stations providing aviation services and solutions worldwide.