Lessons from Iran war disruption

Lessons from Iran war disruption

From Cargo Facts Connect by Cargo Facts

May 9, 2026 · 18 min · Episode 163

About this episode

The episode discusses the resilience of freighter operators in the face of disruptions caused by the Iran war and the lessons learned for future crises.

Freighter operators remain optimistic about the prospects for the industry and its resilience in dealing with crises, drawing from the handling of disruption caused by the Iran war. As the war broke out on Feb. 28, Compass Air Cargo and Atlas Air were among the many carriers that collectively had fifty or so freighters stuck in the region . Atlas, for one, had a 777F (69788) in Abu Dhabi (AUH) and a 747-8F (60118) in maintenance in Tel Aviv (TLV), Graham Perkins, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa for Atlas Air, said during the opening panel discussion at Cargo Facts EMEA 2026 in Brussels last week. “All the focus at that point in time was on our trying to get our people out, those who were not based there, looking after our people who were living there and are based in the [United Arab Emirates] in particular,” Perkins said. “And then, of course, the aircraft themselves. So, it was people first, and airplanes second in that regard.” Now that most operations have resumed, the industry should learn to react to major events in an even more agile manner to address the demands of customers , Teleport Chief Business Officer Jan…

People in this episode

Guests: Graham Perkins, Jan Philipp Poter

Topics covered

  • freighter operations
  • Iran war disruption
  • industry resilience
  • crisis management
  • e-commerce growth
  • air cargo

Keywords

  • freighter operators
  • Iran war
  • crisis response
  • air cargo industry
  • e-commerce
  • Atlas Air
  • Compass Air Cargo

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Compass Air Cargo, Atlas Air, Teleport

Places: United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, Brussels

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