Air cargo set for disruption as Hurricane Florence hits US east coast

The air cargo industry is bracing for disruption to US supply chains as Hurricane Florence starts to lash North and South Carolina.
The storm is expected to bring wind speeds of up to 90mph while torrential rain fall is expected to result in catastrophic flooding and there are predictions of life-threatening storm surges.
More than 100,000 homes and businesses are without power, but this could rise to more than 3m, while over 1m people have been told to evacuate coastal areas.
American Airlines Cargo said it had placed an embargo on cargo touching Wilmington, Charleston, Raleigh Durham and Greenville until at least midnight on September 14. Further updates can be found here.
Untied Cargo has placed restrictions on the following airports until further notice: Charleston, Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, Norfolk, Raleigh-Durham and Savannah. The latest updates can be found here.
Delta Cargo’s embargoes are in place until Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Find the latest updates here.
FedEx said: "Our contingency plans are in place and, as always, our priorities are the safety and well-being of our team members and minimizing the effects of potential storms on service.
"FedEx will be prepared to provide service to the best of our ability in areas affected by the storm and as local conditions allow.
"To help avoid delays, we encourage you to contact your recipients to verify whether their location is open or able to receive deliveries."
UPS said that evacuations and flooding are impacting service in areas of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
“There will be no pickups or deliveries in the impacted areas. With additional impacts expected from the hurricane, our team is closely monitoring local weather conditions.”
Meanwhile, the aid response to the hurricane is already underway.
Airlink, in partnership with United Airlines, has already pre-positioned responders in North Carolina – five volunteers with Global Outreach Doctors, Mobile Medics International, Operation BBQ Relief, and Save the Children are already on the ground to prepare for the medical, nutritional, and clean-up needs post-Florence.
Meanwhile, another storm is set to disrupt flights in Hong Kong. Super Typhoon Mangkhut has winds of 160mph and is set to hit the Philippines before reaching Hong Kong on Sunday.
Cathay Pacific said: "Super Typhoon Mangkhut is headed towards Hong Kong this weekend, with the closest approach expected on Sunday, 16 September. This is likely to have a significant impact on Hong Kong.
"We are expecting severe disruptions to our scheduled flight operations, including major delays and cancellations, between the hours of 12 p.m. (noon) and 7 p.m. on Sunday, 16 September.

"We will issue further updates should there be any changes to the flight schedule."
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