The closure of European airports because of the Icelandic volcanic eruption has delayed the transportation of air cargo bound for Europe and thrown into disarray just-in-time supply chains across Asia. However, with flights to the affected areas resuming on 21 April, a senior executive from DHL told China Daily that the crisis would not harm this year’s market recovery.

Charles Kaufmann, CEO for North Asia, DHL Global Forwarding said it would take “some time” to transport the delayed shipments. The closure of European air space has seriously affected industries such as pharmaceuticals that are reliant on air freight.

Even so, Mr Kaufmann said the impact would be temporary and his company is still confident of a strong year of air freight growth in 2010, especially in China. Air cargo demand increased 26.5 per cent year-on-year in February, according to the International Air Transport Association.