Mitigation strategies for aviation logistics firms challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Lion Parcel

To combat COVID-19, the Indonesian government has imposed air travel restrictions on all Indonesian airlines. During government restrictions, e-commerce and logistics surged. Meanwhile, massive air travel restrictions caused flight cancellations, embargoes, late deliveries, customer complaints, etc., for air cargo companies. Flight cancellations are so frequent for aviation logistics companies that use commercial planes to transport cargo that demand for available flights outnumbers supply. This supply-demand imbalance affects logistics firms' hubs and distribution centers. Costs are rising, customer complaints are overwhelming, destinations are embargoed, and distribution centers are suboptimal. This effect can also be observed at Lion Parcel, an aviation logistics company owned by Lion Group Airlines, the largest low-cost airline in the country. No studies have evaluated the recovery path for aviation logistics companies that use commercial aircraft (half passenger, half cargo planes); meanwhile, this should be investigated as well. This study uses a two-phase methodology consisting of a quantitative analysis using Fuzzy-DEMATEL to rank and determine interrelationships and how the challenges interact, and a qualitative analysis using structured interviews to present mitigation strategies for aviation logistics firms impacted by COVID-19 and describe how organizations can adapt their supply chains to withstand future disruptions. Damaged Cargo, Shipment Tonnage Inconsistency, Partial Cargo Arrival, Canceled Flight, 3LC (Three Letter Code) Embargo, and Customer Complaints are the most prominent challenges. Operational Cost and Shipment Tonnage Inconsistency are influencing factors, whereas Cargos Arrived Partially, Canceled Flight, and Damaged Cargo is the most considerable effects. This study's findings and discussions on mitigation strategies are elaborated and detailed to strengthen supply chain resilience.