Air delays could help hauliers
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UNNECESSARY delays in sending goods by air could result in some of the business being lost to road transport, the EEC Commission warns in a new report.
Despite tough competition from road haulage, administrative delays by airport Customs are said to be causing urgent consignments to take three days door-to-door within the EEC.
The report says that serious efforts are needed to accelerate these Customs formalities so that the gain in speed from air transport is not wasted.
According to the EEC many exporters questioned were not convinced they were getting value for money from air freight.
The EEC's investigation covered 14 major airports with Heathrow ranking low down the list for efficiency.
Unlike Paris or Schiphol (Amsterdam), Heathrow charges extra for Customs clearance on small consignments outside normal opening hours, which are only 67 hours per week compared with 80 hours at Schiphol, 84 hours at Paris and a roundthe-clock service at Frankfurt. Imported goods at Heathrow are also usually held for an average of three-and-a-half days before being released, which is 24 hours longer than either Schiphol or Frankfurt.
Bottom of the efficiency list is Athens airport which is said to close down in midafternoon, cannot handle frozen goods or valuables and where imports can be stuck in Customs for months.