Essential for supplying the island, freight activity recorded a decline limited to 13%, in the 1st trimester, at Roland Garros airport. 5,364 tonnes of goods were processed during the first three months of the year, compared to 6,183 tonnes over the same period in 2020. In January, exports (574 tonnes) had even progressed by 6,3% compared to January 2020, as a continuation of an exceptionally good fruit campaign. The decline deepened in February, both import and export. It decreased significantly in March. Faced with the drop in capacity and the reduction in the companies' regular flight schedule, arising from the return of compelling reasons to travel between mainland France and Reunion from January 28, “all-cargo” flights have started to be implemented. Regular airlines operated several of these flights without passengers, carrying freight only, in February and March. Cargo planes were also chartered, notably with Kenya Airways and Swiftair, to transport overdue freight to Paris.
