DACHSER organizes its first charter flight from Hong Kong to Porto

DACHSER continues to fly high, even in times of pandemic. To answer to an urgent request, the logistics provider organized, for the first time, a charter flight from Hong Kong to Porto. This special response was a joint effort made by the DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics (ASL) teams in Hong Kong and Porto. Aircraft availability and timing were the major challenges.

Finding a suitable aircraft for the service was the first step – the decision was made by the DACHSER air freight experts who select the most suitable type of aircraft depending on the commodities to be transported - in this case, a cargo plane with a transport capacity of up to 100 tons.

After the aircraft was confirmed, DACHSER received the shipments from several suppliers within China and prepared it for loading. Since it was carried out in the middle of the Chinese New Year, a period in which local operational resources are very much limited, the loading was indeed a race against time and required a lot of work capacity from the team.

Subsequently, the cargo went to Porto airport. In Portugal, the DACHSER ASL team took the baton and continued with the entire process, from receiving the goods to managing customs procedures, ending with the delivery to the final customer through the company owned DACHSER European Logistics road transport network.

Charter flights allow you to fly high even in the middle of a pandemic

In order to compensate for the decrease in the air cargo capacity - which occurred due to the pandemic and the consequent suspension of passenger flights - verified worldwide, DACHSER chartered more than 100 planes in 2020 alone, which proves the importance of this service to get around the adverse conditions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak in the global market. For the first time, in this case, DACHSER covered the Hong Kong - Porto route.

In the Greater China region, the DACHSER teams have the capacity to receive cargo, both in mainland China and in Hong Kong and can also manage road transport if necessary. In addition to picking, palletizing (an essential process since it is very important to prepare pallets in accordance with international standards) and labelling, DACHSER offers other added value services to its customers, such as cargo repacking, whenever necessary. Furthermore, as an international logistics provider, DACHSER also works with dangerous goods, complying with the IATA DGR standard.

In Portugal, the DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics and DACHSER European Logistics business lines - which have more than 200 employees in seven locations - work in close cooperation to offer their customers excellent service in all transport and warehousing solutions. With offices and warehouses from North to South of the country, the teams ensure a large portfolio of logistical operations in a flexible, precise and safe way, such as receiving the cargo, clearing the goods, delivering them to the final customer or even, the management of special projects. Whenever necessary, the service can be carried out door-to-door, which is especially important in case of transporting valuable goods. Customers, therefore, benefit from standardized processes, consultancy services and a high-quality service, at global level.