One year after the arrival of the coronavirus, we reflect with the FNG team on the changes and consequences that the pandemic has brought with it and how the different delegations have experienced all these months.

With the arrival of the pandemic and the stricter confinement, one of the most affected sectors in our country has been the tourism sector, a sector from which many others also feed, among them, the freight transport sector.
The absence of tourists visiting our beaches and cities has been accompanied by a drop in demand for commercial flights and the absence of documentation and parcel shipments from tour operators.
How has our delegation in Madrid experienced it? Ofelia Herrador tells us.

To begin with, we talked about how the Madrid delegation's activity has been affected by the arrival of the pandemic.

From the Madrid delegation we mainly move merchandise by air, much of which is destined for the Canary Islands. When the confinement began, all this activity practically came to a standstill. All customers in the tourism sector closed until very recently, so that all documentation and parcels for travel agencies stopped being moved. In addition, as mobility was reduced, the frequency of commercial flights also decreased drastically.

This uncertainty during the first months (March, April and May) had us worried and a bit discouraged, but little by little, the activity started to reactivate and we became calmer.

Regarding the preventive measures that were taken, Ofelia tells us the following.

In addition to the use of masks and hydroalcoholic gel, in the Madrid delegation, as we were not a very large team, we were able to organize ourselves well from the beginning to avoid having everyone in the office at the same time, so we were able to maintain safety distances without any problem.

We worked morning and afternoon shifts and, when the workload started to increase a little more, we implemented teleworking. So, whoever went to work in person in the morning, teleworked in the afternoon and vice versa.
Having a good organization made us feel secure when going to work.

We commented on the challenges and benefits of implementing teleworking.

The biggest drawback was at the beginning, when the traffic staff had to prepare documentation or roadmaps and were not in the office. Even if we were in constant contact by phone, without seeing the goods it is much more complicated to generate all this documentation.

However, the pandemic has shown us that, although in this job it is not possible to telework every day, especially for those who carry out the daily operations and have to see the goods live, it is possible to implement it and it brings great benefits in the event of a specific need or at specific moments when it is necessary to reconcile.

How do you see the future?

As far as merchandise is concerned, since April we have started to see more volume and movement. I believe that, as soon as tourism returns to pre-pandemic levels, we will start to return to "normality".

On the other hand, because interpersonal relationships are so blocked, the commercial issue is becoming more difficult to overcome. Going to visit a customer to meet them in person has become more difficult, so personal contact is being lost. Everything has to be done by phone or email and this makes it difficult to attract customers.

As for the most positive aspects that the pandemic has brought.

From my point of view, the most positive thing has been the possibility of implementing teleworking in certain moments of the pandemic. It has been very easy and has brought great benefits.

Without a doubt, we have also seen how the profession has been enhanced. Having seen it as an essential activity, we have continued to give 100% even in the toughest moments of this pandemic.

To conclude, Ofelia tells us about one of the most important moments experienced during these months.

During the first months, one of the first deliveries of ventilators to hospitals in the Balearic Islands was made and the client, very satisfied with the speed and efficiency of such an important service, wrote us some very emotional words to thank us.
For the team, it was very important to receive a token of appreciation like this and, even more, in the hard times we were living.

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