Air freight has shifted from being shippers' traditional "Plan B" to an increasingly embedded component of supply chain planning since Covid, according to Global Shippers Forum director James Hookham.

Speaking at Aviation Connect in Athens this week, Hookham told the audience that the pandemic permanently changed how shippers position air cargo in their logistics strategies. What was once an emergency contingency option now features in routine planning cycles.

That shift carries commercial weight for carriers and forwarders: if shippers treat air freight as a structural channel rather than an ad-hoc fallback, demand patterns become more predictable — but expectations around reliability, documentation and contractual clarity also rise.

What could complicate the trajectory?

Hookham flagged one specific concern: new rules on direct air waybills. He warned the changes could introduce complexity for shippers precisely as they deepen their reliance on the air mode.

For forwarders and carriers, that means documentation processes may need adjustment, and shippers will be watching how smoothly the new waybill regime is implemented across trade lanes.

Why the timing matters

The comments come as post-peak season holidays approach, a period when shippers typically reassess modal mixes and contingency capacity. Hookham noted shippers were more likely to lean on air options around this window, reinforcing the mode's growing role beyond pure disruption response.

The through-line for the market: air cargo's elevated status among shippers looks set to persist, but the pace at which the direct air waybill changes bed in will determine whether the mode's expansion runs smoothly or hits administrative friction.