NEW YORK (AP) — A UPS cargo plane crash at the company's global aviation hub in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday evening resulted in at least nine fatalities and is expected to disrupt the supply chain temporarily, causing shipping delays.
The plane was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport when the incident occurred. Package sorting operations at the facility were halted late Tuesday and continued into Wednesday, affecting approximately 416,000 packages per hour.
UPS stated that it has contingency plans in place to minimize delays, though specifics were not disclosed. Experts suggest that UPS may increase flights from its regional hubs to compensate for the disruptions caused by Worldport's closure.
Tom Goldsby, a supply chain management professor at the University of Tennessee, noted that UPS will face pressure to resolve delays before the holiday season. He mentioned the need for patience as consumers await their packages, given the unexpected nature of logistics disruptions.
The crash occurs as UPS is shifting its focus from Amazon deliveries to business-to-business services amid a significant reduction in workforce, having cut 48,000 jobs this year. The company recently reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.
Authorities continue to investigate the incident.