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Amazon freighter overruns Miami International runway

An Amazon Air Boeing 767 freighter has overrun one of the runways at Miami International Airport (MIA), tragically resulting in the deaths of several people after it struck several vehicles. The aircraft overran runway 30 at around 14:00hrs local time on September 6. Reports suggest the aircraft was being operated by 21 Air. The local mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that at least five people had died and another five had been injured. Following the incident, the airport closed all runways and taxiways and issued a ground stop, although according to its latest update, one runway has since been reopened. Flights are expected to restart at around 17:30 local time. "Earlier today, Prime Air Flight 7598 overran Miami International Airport's diagonal runway. One runway is currently open, but we are still seeing impacts due to this incident," MIA said in a statement. Images on social media showed smoke and flames emanating from the aircraft after the incident. The images also show the aircraft having come to a stop close to a highway. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would launch an investigation. "21 Air Flight 7598 overran the runway after landing at Miami International Airport around 2 p.m. local time on Sunday, Sept. 6. The Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The FAA will investigate," the organisation said in a social media post. Reports suggest the aircraft hit several vehicles. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue service said: "Over 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units are on scene of an incident involving a plane that overran a runway and struck multiple vehicles near Miami International Airport. Units arrived to find an airplane that had caught on fire as a result of this crash, with heavy flames and smoke showing." Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said: "We can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today. This is a fast-moving situation and we're still gathering details. "We're working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened. Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved. We're doing everything we can to support those affected."

UK cargo operations disrupted after air traffic control issues

Flights from the UK are again being cancelled at airports across the country after air traffic control systems yesterday faced technical issues. Yesterday, UK air traffic controller NATS' flight processing system faced issues which have since been fixed. Around 2,000 flights were cancelled yesterday, and while operations have been recovering, there were more cancellations today, with around 150 flights already cancelled. "This has been a very complex recovery and has created difficulties for the whole aviation network, from which it will take time to recover," NATS said in a statement issued last night. Heathrow, Gatwick and East Midlands Airport were amongst the airports affected by the issues. Virgin Atlantic Cargo said flights were expected to operate as normal today, although there may be some disruption to shipments. "While the technical issue affecting the NATS air traffic control system has now been resolved, recovery across the wider aviation industry is ongoing. "Virgin Atlantic expects to operate its planned flying programme on Wednesday 9 September, although some shipments will continue to experience disruption as a result of the outage on Tuesday 8 September." The cargo business added that teams are prioritising rebooking impacted shipments and customers should check its track and trace system or the latest status update. According to data from Rotate, outbound international cargo capacity from London Heathrow fell to 2,500 tonnes yesterday compared with 4,200 tonnes a week earlier. Stansted's outbound international cargo capacity dropped to 798 tonnes against 1,000 tonnes on 1 September, and at East Midlands there was a fall to 1,200 tonnes from 1,400 tonnes. Gatwick Airport said that it anticipated that it would take time for its operations to fully return to normal. Heathrow said that disruption would continue as airlines need to reposition aircraft and crew.

Advance booking critical as hi-tech nabs peak airfreight capacity

In times of urgency it's often airfreight to the rescue, but during this peak season shippers may have to look elsewhere to move cargo from the Asia Pacific region to North America, elbowed aside by AI-related traffic. In its Asia Pacific Freight Report for August, Taiwan-based logistics provider Dimerco noted that airfreight capacity from several origins in the region to the US remained tight, with pricing on the rise. It highlighted Taiwan and South Korea as the most challenging markets to find lift but noted that other origins - notably Malaysia and Thailand - were also faced with capacity constraints., "Dynamic load factors on Asia-US lanes have reached about 90%, the report stated, adding that AI-related traffic was the main driver of demand. And the peak season is not likely to change the picture, warned DHL Global Forwarding's Fabio Weiss, SVP air freight for Asia Pacific. "We anticipate a more technology-driven peak season, rather than the traditional retail-led peaks of the past. Demand for AI hardware, semiconductors, server systems, and other hi-tech products should remain elevated, while industrial and advanced-manufacturing cargo will continue to compete for space on the same premium lanes," he said. Shippers of consumer products with lower margins will likely face challenges in securing airfreight capacity. Kenneth Leung, SVP of Dimerco, said: "Capacity of course becomes a concern, and a stronger possibility of rate increases, particularly if a shipper has to use an airfreight charter service." Mr Weiss added: "Because AI infrastructure components are often high-value, time-critical, and tied to fixed deployment schedules, they tend to compete strongly for premium capacity. Shippers in consumer electronics, automotive, telecoms, and industrial sectors are therefore reviewing which products genuinely need to fly. Less time-sensitive accessories, components, industrial parts, and planned replenishment cargo may move by ocean or sea-air." "For some shippers, a switch to ocean freight might work," Mr Leung added. But Mr Weiss stressed that these capacity constraints did not affect the entire tradelane between Asia Pacific and the US. "AI-related cargo is not creating a universal shortage of airfreight capacity, but it is placing structural capacity pressure on specific technology-focused lanes. This is particularly visible between Taiwan and the US, as well as from selected South-east Asia and intra-Asia origins," he explained. He added: "This should not be viewed simply as AI cargo crowding-out other industries. Rather, it is accelerating a more disciplined approach to modal choice, reserving airfreight for cargo where time, value, and continuity matter most." Rather than relying on one optimised route, shippers are designing supply chains around optionality by diversifying sourcing locations, using alternative gateways, spreading production across several countries, and positioning inventory closer to major end markets, he said. "Our customers are also planning shipments further in advance, building contingency capacity into critical periods, and combining air, ocean, and sea-air solutions to optimise cost and speed. "In today's dynamic world, resilience is not about finding one perfect route, but having several viable options and the data to make an informed choice to switch between them before a disruption becomes a bottleneck," he continued. According to him, the character of the peak season itself is also undergoing a transformation. "Rather than one broad rise and fall in volumes, we expect shorter, sharper periods of pressure around specific origins, project milestones, and product launches. I "n previous market observations we have seen demand arrive earlier, with customers booking in shorter windows or securing buffer capacity to manage uncertainty. With AI and semiconductor shipments replacing e-commerce as the primary capacity driver on some lanes, capacity may tighten periodically, particularly from Taiwan and selected South-east Asian gateways. "This peak season may be defined less by how high total volumes rise, and more by where, when, and how quickly technology demand concentrates. For shippers, early forecasting and advance bookings will be even more critical," he reflected.