OCEANAIR’s Measures to Curb the Spread of COVID-19

Posted on | by competenow

OCEANAIR’s Measures to Curb the Spread of COVID-19

Focusing on Securing the Safety of our Employees and the Logistics Chain

March 17, 2020

 

Dear Valued Clients and Partners,

It goes without saying…  We are experiencing very challenging and unprecedented times.  The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is now at a level in the U.S. where the government has cancelled public events, forced the closure of schools, instituted social distancing policies, and banned restaurants and bars from servicing foods and drinks on-site.  President Trump has restricted travel to Europe and is also considering restricting domestic travel.

While many countries in Europe have closed their borders, including Italy, Denmark, Poland, and Norway, the closures do not apply to freight transportation, and all distribution routes are open.

We are now seeing airlines cancel the majority of flights and rescinding pre-agreed or existing contracted rates.  Existing allocations are also being revoked, and bookings are only being accepted on a case-by-case basis, with no guarantee of a scheduled or timely departure.  We have been informed that the actions taken by the airlines are designed to be temporary in nature, and their schedules will remain fluid in the days and weeks to come.  We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.

Rest assured that OCEANAIR has a business continuity plan in place to manage the ever-changing global situation and to help curb the spread of the virus.  As we continue to charter into unfamiliar territory, we would like to offer you a quick summary of OCEANAIR’s Coronavirus Continency Plan to reduce risk and maintain service.

Assisting our Clients

  • Our priority is to continue responding to our client’s requests and preserving our operational capacities while ensuring the health of our employees, clients, and partners
  • Employees can be reached by email or phone using their usual contact details
  • Pharmaceutical by OCEANAIR is fully operational and is working safely and diligently with some of their customers in the health care field
  • We are maintaining an active dialog with our partners to ensure minimal supply chain disruption, including identifying alternative routings to ensure your cargo reaches its final destination safely and soundly
    • Our Chinese partners are working on a MD 114 charter from Shanghai to Chicago on March 21. At the moment, we are negotiating with charter companies for another 6-8 flights.
    • Our partners in Germany offer self-managed cargo flights between Frankfurt and Greenville, SC 4 times a week, with future plans to expand the service to daily departures

Internal Preparedness

  • We have ensured remote access for the majority of OCEANAIR employees so they can work from home as needed
  • We have implemented “bounce-back” emails to provide communication instructions to our clients
  • We have ensured remote access to management reports to all of our supervisors and managers
  • We have required immediate account-based cross-training to strengthen customer service during prolonged absenteeism
  • We are developing quarantine procedures which will allow us to handle immediate emergency circumstances

Protecting Our Coworkers

  • OCEANAIR has announced policies to encourage sick employees to stay home
  • We are instituting social distancing and staff rotation protocols to minimize exposure between employees
  • We have initiated increased cleaning and sanitation of the Company’s premises
  • We are encouraging non-essential employees to work from home
    • All essential employees, including Pharmaceuticals by OCEANAIR, will continue normal operations at our facilities
  • Employees who travel abroad, on cruises, or to the West Coast are required to self-quarantine for 14-days upon return

OCEANAIR is vigilantly monitoring the trajectory of this pandemic and is taking proactive measures as well as reacting to circumstances that may potentially affect services.  If the outbreak worsens, we will announce more details as needed.  As always, we intend to be fully transparent with our clients.  At the end of the day, we provide Exceptional Service Without Exceptions.

We would like to thank you for your continued support and understanding.  As always, OCEANAIR is there when our clients need us.  Please contact a member of our staff if you have any questions or concerns.

Kind regards,

 

Ed Kaplan

CEO