U&I Logistics: Tet-Period Air Freight That Protects the Cold Chain for Fresh Agricultural Exports
By Minh Thanh
Lunar New Year (Tet) is the ultimate stress test for supply chains: extended holidays, thinner duty rosters, and constrained airport handling capacity, while demand for certain export categories remains strong. For fresh produce and other highly perishable agricultural goods - where shelf life is short and quality hinges on temperature integrity and clearance speed - every hour of delay can translate into measurable loss. In this context, air freight is not merely the fastest option; it is a quality-preservation strategy. U&I Logistics says it maintains operations throughout Tet, prioritizing end-to-end cold-chain integrity and coordinated execution so that fresh cargo stays on schedule, compliant, and genuinely “fresh” on arrival.
Planning ahead of Tet: from pre-alerts to secured capacity and risk lock-in
The biggest bottleneck during Tet is uncertainty: flight schedules can shift, ground resources and warehouse throughput tighten, while Customs and quarantine requirements remain non-negotiable. For perishable cargo, even small discrepancies in documents, labeling, or packing specifications may extend waiting time - pushing temperatures out of range and accelerating quality deterioration.
Instead of rushing at the last minute, U&I Logistics prepares early: issuing pre-alerts, securing capacity with airlines well ahead of the holiday, and aligning operating procedures with key points of contact in Customs and plant/animal quarantine. Documentation is reviewed and standardized more rigorously than usual to reduce errors under holiday-duty staffing. In practice, early preparation is not only about getting space on an aircraft; it is about locking in risk controls from the very beginning of the shipment plan.
Cold chain as the backbone: managing cut-offs, dwell time, and handover windows
In fresh logistics, speed is necessary but not sufficient. The decisive factor is cold-chain continuity. U&I Logistics says its air-freight service focuses on the most sensitive milestones: flight cut-off times, warehouse dwell time, and the handover window to the airline - critical “touchpoints” where cargo is most exposed to temperature rise, humidity, or prolonged waiting.
Fresh agricultural goods are inherently time- and temperature-sensitive. If cargo queues too long in airport areas, the risk of temperature excursions increases sharply, often leading to reduced freshness, weight loss, and degraded sensory quality at destination. To limit that exposure, operational handover is optimized to shorten airport waiting time while maintaining suitable temperature conditions across all handling steps. Cold-chain performance, therefore, is not only about equipment—it is about disciplined, repeatable execution.
Why Tet is the highest-risk season for perishable cargo. Tet changes the operating rhythm: many teams move to holiday-duty schedules, handling and warehouse capacity contracts, and processing time can stretch. On some trade lanes, clearance activities may pause or slow under holiday arrangements, shifting pressure onto alternative routes and modes. For fresh produce, a small delay can mean quality loss - multiple delays can jeopardize an entire shipment.
Tet-period coordination: synchronized duty teams to keep shipments on schedule
A defining challenge during Tet is cross-party coordination: on-site operations, documentation, airlines, airport warehouses, and competent authorities. If one link falls behind, a domino effect can follow—late handover, missed cut-off, flight changes, prolonged dwell time, and an elevated probability of cold-chain disruption.
While many parties pause or scale back during the holiday, U&I Logistics maintains an on-duty structure throughout Tet to keep coordination seamless between the operations team, documentation staff, and airline counterparts. Clear task ownership and standardized handling workflows are designed to resolve issues quickly and minimize impact on flight schedules. In this sense, “operating through Tet” is not simply having staff on standby; it is running a system with designated decision points, contingency playbooks, and backup options when disruptions occur.
From a broader market perspective, Vietnam’s air-cargo demand has been rebounding alongside aviation recovery. As volumes expand, peak periods such as Tet amplify the need for lean, standardized coordination—especially for high-value perishables.
Vietnam’s produce exports accelerate cold-chain logistics must move first. As Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports continue to grow, quality compliance and technical barriers are becoming more stringent. In that race, cold-chain capability turns into a competitive advantage. When executed to standard, air freight shortens transit time, protects product quality, and strengthens the credibility of Vietnamese fresh produce in international markets.
Tet is not only a holiday - it is the period when nearly every variable in the supply chain becomes harder at once. For fresh agricultural goods, the question is not whether cargo can fly, but whether it can arrive truly fresh. By planning early, tightly managing cold-chain milestones, and maintaining synchronized coordination throughout Tet, U&I Logistics aims to keep shipments within temperature standards, aligned with flight schedules, and protected in quality up to final delivery. As agricultural exports accelerate, standardized, cold-chain-ready air logistics becomes a key lever—helping Vietnam not only sell more, but sell fresher and build stronger trust in global markets.
