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U.S. air-safety regulators, seeking to make it easier for airlines to ramp up transportation of cargo aimed at combating the pandemic, are poised to allow such shipments in the cabins of passenger planes, according to people familiar with the issue.

Airlines slashed passenger flights and many of them essentially grounded their entire fleets in the face of the collapsing travel demand. Now amid pandemic lockdowns—reducing overall air traffic by some 60% globally— carriers are seeking ways to boost their cargo capabilities to compensate for some of the lost revenue.

American Airlines Group Inc., United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. are among the U.S. carriers that have started operating cargo-only flights in recent weeks, with the freight stowed in the bellies of aircraft below the passenger cabins.

Internationally, flydubai and Ethiopian Airlines also have indicated they are moving toward reconfiguring passenger cabins to haul cargo.

Some of the moves are coming because sharply reduced availability of cargo space on passenger flights has disrupted shipments of fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs.

One result of the effort to shift the idled passenger planes to cargo operations is a data-gathering partnership announced last week that is designed to help airline executives, shippers and air-traffic control entities identify and better analyze shifting demand. The initiative pairs Aireon LLC, a provider of satellite-based aircraft surveillance information, with the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization, a Netherlands-based association representing air-traffic control organizations world-wide.

Despite the indefinite grounding of some large passenger fleets, the Canso-Aireon partnership estimated that as of last week roughly 22% of commercial aircraft were still flying globally compared with typical pre-pandemic traffic levels. The totals didn’t break out cargo flights.

Source: www.wsj.com/articles