According to Xeneta, the West Asia tensions has emerged as a defining stress test for the global air freight industry. Unlike earlier supply chain disruptions where air cargo acted as a fallback when ocean freight faltered, the current crisis is directly constraining air capacity itself. With hub airports in key transit points facing operational challenges, the region’s advantage as a global connector has quickly turned into a vulnerability. Cities such as Dubai and Doha — critical nodes linking Asia, Europe, and the Americas — are at the centre of disruption. Five weeks into the conflict, capacity in the region remains around per cent below pre-conflict levels, triggering a sharp supply squeeze across major trade lanes.
