Germany's Lufthansa airlifting food supplies to UK as fear of shortages grips the country
A perfect storm generated by border closures owing to the potent strain of coronavirus – dubbed the “British virus” – and a looming no trade deal Brexit is beginning to cause an unprecedented food shortage crisis in the UK.
The German airline Lufthansa has confirmed it sent a Boeing 777 freighter from Frankfurt to Doncaster Sheffield Airport on Wednesday afternoon (December 23).
We are sending a @BoeingAirplanes B777 Freighter to Doncaster Sheffield @DSA_Airport. On board: 80 tons of fruits and vegetables. @Lufthansa_Cargo is currently examining whether additional special cargo flights can be offered during the next days. Watch #LH8352 on @flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/mpvCQA7Mgz
— Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) December 23, 2020
According to a Lufthansa spokesman, the flight was chartered by a company supplying three of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains, namely Tesco, the Co-op and the German-owned Aldi.
The supplies on board included lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, strawberries and citrus fruits to the tune of 80 metric tons.
The flagship German airline said it was considering more special cargo flights to Britain over the next few days in the run-up to the New Year.
Meanwhile, the head of Britain’s Food and Drink Federation, Ian Wright, told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday (December 23) that if the Dover port crisis “wasn’t resolved” there would be “shortages of foodstuffs” sourced from outside the UK, such as “citrus fruits and some green vegetables”.
Highlighting the centrality of Dover to British food supplies, the British Retail Consortium estimates that around 40 percent of the food supermarkets import comes through the port of Dover, with an even higher proportion for fresh produce.
To underscore the gravity of the developing crisis, Britain’s second largest supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s, has warned that “chaos” at Dover could result in shortages for perishable foods and produce, including lettuce, other salad leaves, cauliflowers, broccoli and some fruits.
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