NEW YORK — Airfreight groups and airlines have begun canceling flights from China to the U.S., expecting business to drop off with the end of the American “de minimis” exemption that gave duty-free treatment to low-value parcel shipments from mainland China and Hong Kong.
“There are already reports of freighter flight cancellations, and carriers will be considering redeploying capacity from the China-U.S. trade onto other corridors,” said Niall van de Wouw, chief airfreight officer at shipping advisory firm Xeneta.
