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Cargo Airships Are Happening

(www.elidourado.com)
220 points elidourado | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.251s | source
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fernly ◴[] No.41844873[source]
Maybe a smaller issue than wind, but something is wrong with this claim:

"If you can pick up goods directly from a customer on one side and deliver them directly to a customer on the other..."

How do you handle customs inspections and duties on imports? As TFA states, in current air freight, "there is a trucking company, a warehouse, a customs broker..." Freight has to go through the warehouse on arrival in-country so the customs inspectors can look at it and assess duties. The article seems to envision the airship dropping down directly at the destination address, which would be that nation's customs agency's worst nightmare.

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xg15 ◴[] No.41848235[source]
Not sure how realistic, but could the inspectors go to the airship instead? They are not planes: Not only can they "park" while airborne, but at least there were concepts of boarding/unboarding in the air as well: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/realestate/26scapes.html
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rtkwe ◴[] No.41848428[source]
They could in theory but I'm dubious governments will be willing to shape their customs enforcement to accommodate this company. Best case I think they might be able to do a drop off at a place for customs inspections and pick them up again with a different craft once cleared.
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DonnyV ◴[] No.41849536[source]
I bet they would change their workflow if it was an Amazon warehouse. Amazon could change the rules in DC.Accomodate for certain size warehouses.
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1. rtkwe ◴[] No.41851173[source]
That's a chicken and egg problem. You have to get big enough to move enough cargo to make it worth getting special accommodations or go through the paperwork of being a proper import/export business to self report.