Apple Sends Charter Flights to Supply iPhones Amid 'Tariff Bomb'

Since March, Six Cargo Planes Mobilized
Production in Chinese Factories Expected to Decrease, While Production in India May Increase

Apple reportedly sent about 1.5 million iPhones to the United States via charter flights to avoid the tariff bomb imposed by the Donald Trump administration, according to Reuters.

On the 10th (local time), Reuters reported that since last month, Apple has implemented special measures such as airlifting about 1.5 million iPhones from India to the U.S. using charter flights to avoid tariff measures and increase iPhone inventory. To this end, since March, Apple has mobilized six cargo planes capable of transporting 100 tons each, one of which departed for India this week.

Reuters analyzed that considering the weight of an iPhone 14 and one charging cable set is 350g, about 1.5 million iPhones were airlifted using cargo planes with a total capacity of 600 tons.

Apple also requested that customs clearance time at Chennai Airport in Tamil Nadu, where the iPhone production plant is located, be reduced from 30 hours to 6 hours to shorten the time it takes to airlift iPhones from India to the U.S.

AP Yonhap News

Additionally, the Foxconn plant in Chennai operated with extra staff even on the holiday Sunday to produce more iPhones before the tariffs were introduced and ship them to the U.S. There are also forecasts that Apple will reduce production in Chinese factories and instead increase production in India to minimize tariffs.

Experts predict that iPhone prices could surge sharply after the U.S. imposes the highest tariffs on Chinese imports. Investment bank UBS estimated that if Apple passes on a significant portion of the tariff costs, the price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max with 256GB storage could rise by more than two-thirds from $1,199 (?925) to nearly $2,000.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in a letter to investors this week, "If consumers want a $3,500 iPhone, we need to produce iPhones in New Jersey, Texas, or other states."