Airfreight, Air Travel and COVID-19 : Researching the Implications and Directions for the Gulf Region

The global aviation business supports the movement of international trade, as it transports goods valued at about 6.0 trillion dollars annually. The Gulf region countries (GCC) location is one of the most valuable factors that makes it perfect to be transformed into a central transshipment hub for the East-West trade route. However, the outbreaks of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 resulted in unprecedented impacts on international trade and logistics operations. GCC is considered a pivotal centre and vital to the movement of trade in the region. GCC has maintained its role and is planning to grow, advance, and move forward to be its favoured coordination centre. The supply chain and logistics business are critical sectors contributing to the gross domestic product. The supply chain and logistics sector has rapidly grown over the past years and secured employment for GCC people. As the business and region condition, the industry has many difficulties that the government and other stakeholders are addressing to ensure that the growth is sustained and GCC maintains its preeminent position. This chapter aims to assess the consequences of COVID-19 on airfreight performance and the recovery process, strategy, and outcomes. Based on the data gathered from the international report, international and local report governmental and non-governmental. The significance of this chapter is the investigation of the aviation sector, which COVID-19 has impacted very hard, particularly airfreight and cargo operations. The chapter will reveal the level of resilience and the recovery process besides the utilization of capacity and resources since the passenger capacity has not been used due to the restrictions.