Chapman Freeborn’s Saska Gerasimova previews Cargo Facts EMEA 2026

Chapman Freeborn has been especially busy fielding charter requests since the outbreak of the Iran war at the end of February, as airspace closures led to grounded aircraft and a sudden drop in capacity.

“It is true that aviation is a very volatile industry,” Group Chief Executive Saska Gerasimova says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.” “So, it’s not about whether a crisis will happen, but it’s a matter of when and where it will happen.”

Gerasimova, who was appointed group CEO in October 2025, says that her experience at Amazon Air in Europe, in particular, is helping her understand the needs of cargo customers.

“The biggest struggles that our customers have is the uncertainty of the geopolitical situation and the volatility in supply,” she says. “Many customers use these elements as an opportunity and are able to react and adjust quickly, while others are rather postponing the decisions. And this is a very big impact that we’ve seen in the last two or three weeks, for example.”

Gerasimova will share her perspective of the freighter market in light of the war and more in a fireside chat on Wednesday, April 29, at Cargo Facts EMEA 2026 in Brussels.

“I would really love to challenge the ideas that [fellow executives] present,” she says. “I would really love to hear the ideas that they have of how we can work together to minimize the impact on the customers, [not just] in the short term, but also in the long term.”

 Tune in to this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear Gerasimova discuss her upcoming fireside chat with Editor Jeff Lee.