SINGAPORE – A double whammy of Covid-19 infections among airport staff and the Chinese New Year holiday have led to severe delays in the processing of cargo at the usually efficient Changi airport terminals.
Containers that usually take hours to process now take days, the Straits Times has learnt.
Concerned freight forwarders wrote in to ST saying the unprecedented bottleneck has clogged the supply chain for more than two weeks, leading to delays in the delivery of imported goods to merchants.
Ships waiting for urgent parts brought in by airfreight are also marooned at Singapore’s ports, while others are staying behind schedule to receive their shipment, they said.
Almost all types of goods, from electronics to books, are affected.
ST has asked airline ground handler Sats if perishables like food and critical medical supplies are being expedited.
Videos taken from inside and outside Sats’ terminals show pallets of unopened cargo sitting untouched, piling outside the usual cargo holding areas.
Notices sent by Sats to shippers and freight forwarders dating back to Jan 20 told them to anticipate delays with “the infection rate among our ground staff… on the rise”.
A notice dated Jan 31 said 26 out of its 240 cargo import staff have been affected by quarantine measures, although 25 of them had not tested positive and were only isolating in a precautionary way.
“This has inevitably affected the breakdown process and circulation of pallet dollies on the ground,” it said.
“Meanwhile, we seek your understanding and patience while we continue to work closely with you and your team to manage this dynamic situation on the ground.”
Freight forwarders said the manpower shortage has been exacerbated by the Chinese New Year, with some Malaysian staff returning to Malaysia for the new year.
Sats added in the notice: “A crisis management team has been set up to closely monitor the situation and to activate business continuity plans. We have assigned staff from other operational areas to assist the import team.”
Sats is Changi Airport’s chief ground handler for airfreight, and is one of two companies with cargo terminals here.
The other is dnata, which has not faced any disruptions in cargo movement.
