Dramatic TV images of COVID-19 vaccines being air lifted to the UK from European factories mean the airfreight sector has never felt more significant. What was once just a boring ordinary supply chain is now a matter of life or death. It is also a matter of politics. Exiting the European Union will impose red-tape and additional checks on inbound and outbound freight. Until April, those effects are muted by opt-outs, but soon they will tell. The combined effect of pandemic and Brexit is to mute trade volumes: compare December 2020 with December 2019 and there is a dip, but by no means a cliff edge. Total tonnage carried to UK airports fell from 202,100 tonnes to 187,600 tonnes.