Labour day: Air freight challenges across Asia & Europe

Labour Day 2026 begins this Friday, 1 May, with public holiday closures across several regions of the world. In Asia, longer holiday periods in China, Japan, Vietnam, and South Korea may affect operating schedules. Europe sees extra activity around Victory Day in early May.

For supply chain managers and logistics teams, this is a useful time to review shipment timing and plan around reduced customs and transport capacity. If you must secure essential shipments from Asia to Europe during this period, consider time-critical options like hand-carry or NFO.

LH recent crew strikes

In Europe, it is also worth noting the recent Lufthansa crew strikes. They may still contribute to freight backlogs on LH flights, as well as longer handling times at FRA and MUC while operations recover.

The fuel crisis impact Southeast Asia

Rising jet fuel costs linked to tensions affecting the Strait of Hormuz are hitting Asian airlines particularly hard. Some Chinese carriers are reducing capacity on Southeast Asia routes while shifting focus to higher-yield markets such as Europe. Combined with peak holiday demand in China mainland, this is tightening air freight capacity on key lanes.

Key holiday dates & impacts

Where delays will impact your shipments

Several factors combine during this period and directly affect air freight flows:

• China’s May Day holiday: Customs at key airports like Shanghai and Guangzhou may shut entirely, with skeleton staffing creating processing backlogs of 3+ days. Chinese carriers (Spring Airlines, China Southern) suspend SE Asia routes (Shanghai-Phuket, Guangzhou-Bangkok), redirecting wide-body capacity to surging Europe lines where holiday demand already overwhelms belly cargo.
• Jet fuel surge: Global supply constraints push prices up 10–20%, inflating air freight rates just as capacity tightens. Expect spot rates to double on popular Asia-Europe routes.
• Europe disruptions: Victory Day (Friday, 8 May) will be the second extended weekend in a row in France, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Labour Day compounds this with fluctuating business hours, weekend trucking bans, and reduced forwarding capacity.
• Route shifts & cancellations: Cooling Chinese outbound travel to SE Asia frees aircraft for Europe, but massive domestic Golden Week migrations still slash available freight seats, hitting electronics, automotive parts, and perishables hardest.

What it means for your shipments

These disruptions have direct consequences on your logistics flows, particularly for time-critical shipments:

• Transit times become less predictable, especially for exports from Asia
• Costs increase rapidly as available capacity tightens
• Transport chains become less flexible, with fewer alternatives in case of disruption
• Final delivery times in Europe may be extended, even after the freight has arrived

In this context, critical shipments can no longer rely solely on standard logistics setups. Alternative solutions become necessary to secure delivery timelines.

What logistics teams should do before Labour Day

• Strategic timing: Ship before 1 May or target post-6 May arrivals to avoid peak bottlenecks.
• Build buffers: Stockpile 2–3 weeks of inventory before holidays and reconfirm orders cut-offs with suppliers.
• Prioritise urgent transport modes: Switch high-value/time-sensitive goods to more reliable OBC/NFO (MustGo air freight) services that bypass regular freight queues.

Air Time Critical®: Seamless solutions through holidays

Our dedicated team operates nonstop to navigate these busy periods:

• China expertise: Reroute around customs blackouts using alternate hubs (e.g., Hong Kong), with live monitoring of airport operations and carrier schedules.
• Europe/Asia networks: Our local partners across Europe and Asia give you an ‘insider’s advantage’ to keep your urgent cargo moving.
• Specialized time-critical services :
  • On Board Courier (OBC): Personal delivery with end-to-end tracking. Perfect for irreplaceable parts or tight deadlines.
  • Next Flight Out (NFO): Highest priority door-to-door on the absolute next available flight, slashing transit times to 2-3 days globally.

When to use OBC or NFO during Labour Day

Choosing the right transport solution is essential when standard air freight becomes less reliable.

Use On Board Courier (OBC) when:

• The shipment is small and highly critical
• Delivery must be guaranteed within the shortest possible timeframe
• No delay can be accepted

Use Next Flight Out (NFO) when:

• The shipment is larger or less time-sensitive than OBC
• The fastest available commercial flight is sufficient
• A balance between urgency and cost is required

Both options allow you to bypass traditional freight constraints and secure faster, more reliable delivery.

Time-sensitive shipments to fly during the May holidays?

With holidays starting this Friday, capacity is evaporating fast. Do not risk production halts or missed deadlines for your time-sensitive shipments.

Contact Air Time Critical® now for advice, optimised routes, and verified solutions to keep your Asia-Europe supply chain running through the Labour Day period.

Contact our team via:

📞 +32 2 888 84 16 (ENG/FR)