CharterSync, the air cargo charter platform, has seen significant growth since 1 January as UK air cargo operators have struggled to cope with the challenge of securing post-Brexit UK-EU flight permits, it has announced.

The platform, which connects freight forwarders with cargo and executive jet operators, handled 183 flights and 750 tons of cargo across Europe in January 2021, a 33 per cent increase on volumes in December 2020.

CharterSync  co-founder and director Ed Gillett (pictured below), said: “Air cargo charter has never been more vital to European supply chains, given the pandemic and new border friction. Ironically, however, life has become much more difficult for UK cargo airlines because of the lack of reciprocal flight permit agreements with the EU. We’ve been able to help airlines manage their extra workload, both through our efficient end-to-end booking technology and by our operations teams helping with permit applications. In one 48-hour period last month we booked 27 flights, which was a new record.

“Our growth partly reflects the breadth of aircraft joining the CharterSync platform, including some of the newest and most sought-after aircraft types,” added Gillett. “We’re already offering the new Saab 340 freighter from RVL Group and were the first company to offer ad-hoc charter on Titan Airways’ newly delivered A321 freighter last month.”

According to the company, CharterSync has seen rising demand from the pharmaceutical sector, with time-critical bookings for Covid-19 vaccines, syringes and PPE.

The company handled bookings across 21 different aircraft types in January, from executive jets up to regional freighter aircraft.

Titan Airways’ managing director, Alastair Willson said: “We have recently added the first of three Airbus A321 freighters to our fleet and its first booking was through CharterSync. We have since performed a number of successful CharterSync flights using the A321F and Boeing 737-300F.

“These flights have come at a challenging time, as the current requirement to obtain permissions to fly between the UK and EU is slowing time-critical cargo movements, which is damaging to our business and our customers’ businesses. Urgent work is needed to simplify this process.”