US West Coast port chaos has seen Pacific Air Cargo (PAC) plan to operate an additional B747 freighter service on its Los Angeles–Honolulu route this Sunday.
Each flight will provide around 120 tonnes of additional freight capacity between the West Coast and Hawaii.
PAC chief executive Beti Ward said: “Pacific Air Cargo will make every effort to place additional wide-body aircraft into service on the transpacific route to ensure that essential and ergency supplies continue to reach the islands during the shutdown of the West Coast ports.”
She added: “It is important that our loyal customers and the people of Hawaii know that we will do everything possible to provide the capacity to meet their needs, and to support our local businesses”.
The company said that it is “closely monitoring the situation on an hour by hour basis” and also stands ready to operate special charter flights to American Samoa and to Guam, if the ports shutdown becomes protracted.
Container vessel operations will be suspended at US West Coast ports over the coming long weekend, the Pacific Maritime Association has warned, the latest turn in a increasingly bitter dispute between dockworkers and vessel owners.
Thomas Ingram, PAC’s vice president of operations, said: “The huge capacity offered by our 747 aircraft and the ready access to additional aircraft means quite simply that Pacific Air Cargo can move a huge amount of freight to keep the islands supplied during this strike”.
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