Most people never stop to wonder how the shelves of European supermarkets carry constant stocks of fresh strawberries and cut flowers in the middle of winter. Or how doctors' surgeries obtain constant supplies of drugs. Or even how racehorses reach overseas circuits for the big events in the international equine race calendar. Cargo has traditionally been 'the far side of the airport' aspect of commercial aviation. Although carrying an importance greater than its visibility, to the travelling public it has been a classic case of 'out of sight, out of mind.' Also unappreciated by many people is the fact that around 50% of the world's air cargo is moved, not by dedicated cargo aircraft, but in the underfloor holds of passenger airliners. So, when those airliners were grounded in March, as ever more countries closed their borders in response to the pandemic, a 'cargo crunch' quickly developed, with severe shortages of capacity to move urgently needed goods.
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