The Middle East war that began on February 28th has sent shockwaves through global air cargo. Jet fuel has nearly doubled. Gulf hub capacity is still less than 60% of normal. And a fragile ceasefire has done little to restore confidence in the region's critical air corridors.

In this episode of Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and Neel Jones Shah are joined by air cargo legend Ram Menen, who spent nearly 28 years building Emirates SkyCargo and helped make Dubai one of the great global freight hubs. Ram gives his verdict on what this crisis means for the region, how it compares to Gulf War I, 9/11 and COVID, and whether the Gulf's geographic advantage can survive the damage.

We also have Bachi Spiga, VP Network Operations at DHL Express Middle East and North Africa, on how DHL rewired its entire regional operation to keep trade moving, and Neil Wilson and Peyton Burnett from TAC Index, calculating agent for the Baltic Air Freight Indices, on what the rate data is telling us right now. And we walk through exclusive capacity and fuel analysis from Rotate, giving a granular picture of what has actually happened to the global network since February 28th.

Produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialists. https://www.ontegos.cloud/

In this episode we cover:

• Ram Menen on the history, the crisis and why he calls this a temporary setback rather than an existential threat to Gulf aviation
• Why the ceasefire changes less than you might think, and what actually needs to happen before normal returns
• Gulf recovery airport by airport, with Dubai at 54%, Doha at 50%, Bahrain and Kuwait at zero
• Global capacity shifts by trade lane, including a 28% surge on Asia-Europe as carriers bypass the Gulf
• Why jet fuel is still 70% above pre-conflict levels despite easing on ceasefire news
• Southeast Asia's fuel import dependency and why Vietnam, Hong Kong and Australia are most at risk
• How DHL rewired its Middle East network to keep trade moving
• Rate movements across the key corridors since February 28th, with Baltic Air Freight Index data from TAC Index
• The 777-200 freighter conversion approval and whether it moves the needle on the capacity crunch

Journalism featured in this episode:

• Damian Brett, Air Cargo News: "Airfreight recovery could take months after US-Iran ceasefire"
• Greg Knowler, Journal of Commerce: "Rising jet fuel costs challenging freighter viability as war enters second month"
• Eric Kulisch, FreightWaves: "FAA approves 1st Boeing 777-200 passenger-to-freighter conversion"

Data: TAC Index / Baltic Air Freight Indices. Rotate.

#AirCargo #AirFreight #MiddleEast #GulfAirCargo #FreightRates #JetFuel #SupplyChain #Logistics #FreightBuyersClub #AirCargoUnpacked #OntegosCloud #BalticAirFreightIndex #TACIndex #DHL #Emirates

The Strait of Hormuz has been closed to commercial shipping since the end of February. One month on, the world is still counting the cost. Freight rates are rising, bunkers and jet fuel are running short, and the risk of escalation into the Red Sea and beyond is growing.

In this episode of The Freight Buyers' Club, Mike King is joined by two of the most respected voices in the industry:

Lars Jensen, CEO, Vespucci Maritime

Greg Knowler, Europe Editor, Journal of Commerce

Together they cover:

✅ Is the Middle East conflict actually a global shipping crisis — or a regional one?

✅ Container shipping rates: are we heading for a Red Sea-style spike or not?

✅ Bunker fuel shortages in Asia — why availability is becoming a bigger problem than price

✅ Jet fuel shortages and the collapse of air cargo capacity through Gulf hubs

✅ The intermodal alternatives: Saudi Red Sea ports, Khorfakkan, Salalah — and their limits

✅ The danger of escalation: Houthis, Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb and the eastern Mediterranean

✅ What US importers are facing on top of the existing tariff chaos

✅ Why supply chain resilience always loses out to efficiency — and what shippers can do about it

✅ Lars Jensen's forecast for container shipping rates in the weeks ahead

Produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group, leading Asia-Pacific freight forwarder and logistics provider. https://dimerco.com

#MiddleEastConflict #ContainerShipping #GlobalTrade #SupplyChain #Freight #ShippingCrisis #Hormuz #AirCargo #BunkerFuel #FreightRates #SupplyChainResilience #FreightBuyersClub #LarsJensen #GregKnowler #Dimerco #OceanFreight #Logistics #Intermodal #RedSea #TradeDisruption

Recorded live at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Peru, Mike King sits down with Andres Bianchi, CEO of LATAM Cargo, the cargo arm of the largest airline group in South America.

Andres breaks down LATAM Cargo's network across North America, Europe and intra-South America, their fleet of 19 Boeing 767 freighters, and why 65% of their cargo is special cargo, dominated by perishables like Chilean salmon, Ecuadorian flowers and Peruvian fruit.

We cover the structural changes hitting e-commerce and de minimis exemptions across Latin America, how LATAM Cargo planned for multiple tariff scenarios without having to implement most of them, and how the Middle East conflict is sending shockwaves through supply chains.

Andres also explains how LATAM Cargo handles fuel surcharge transparency with customers in a volatile pricing environment, and outlines plans for 5 to 7% belly capacity growth in 2026, with a focus on cargo-heavy European routes including Amsterdam and Brussels.

Topics covered:

• IATA World Cargo Symposium 2025 takeaways
• LATAM Cargo fleet and network overview
• Perishables, pharma and lithium battery cargo
• US tariffs, trade war and de minimis changes
• Middle East conflict and supply chain disruption
• Fuel surcharges and price volatility
• LATAM Cargo 2026 growth outlook

This content is brought to you by Dimerco Express Group. Learn more at dimerco.com.

#AirCargo #AirFreight #LATAMCargo #IATAWorldCargoSymposium #FreightBuyersClub #SouthAmericaFreight #Perishables #ColdChain #LogisticsPodcast #FreightPodcast #SupplyChain #Ecommerce #DeMinimis #Tariffs #TradeWar #FuelSurcharge #CargoFleet #FreightMarket #AirCargoIndustry #Dimerco