Flight Cuts From Shutdown Strain Supply Chain Already Stretched Thin

The Federal Aviation Administration’s announcement of a 10% reduction in flight capacity across 40 major U.S. airports could further strain the air cargo system as the peak holiday season approaches, Mae Anderson reported for the Associated Press (AP).

MD-11 aircraft 4% of FedEx’s fleet, the companies said. (Photo: FedEx)

Several airports with major package distribution centers are among those reducing capacity. FedEx has hubs at airports in Indianapolis and Memphis, Tennessee, while UPS’ largest hub,

Worldport, is in Louisville, Kentucky — the site of this week’s deadly cargo plane crash.

UPS and FedEx said they are grounding their fleets of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 planes “out of an abundance of caution” following the fatal crash at the UPS global aviation hub in Kentucky.

The crash Tuesday at UPS Worldport in Louisville killed 14 people, including the three pilots on the MD-11 that was headed for Honolulu.

MD-11 aircraft make up about 9% of UPS’ fleet and 4% of FedEx’s fleet, the companies said.

Logistics firms say consumers shouldn’t expect delivery delays for now, but warned that both the flight reductions and the grounding of MD-11s could strain the supply chain ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season.

Patrick Penfield, a supply chain management professor at Syracuse University, called the 10% flight capacity cut and the MD-11 grounding a “one-two punch” for cargo carriers and shoppers.