FedEx Corp. CFO John Dietrich stated on Tuesday that the grounding of its MD-11 freighter fleet would have minimal impact on operations. This is due to the relatively quick completion of mandatory inspections and the company's deployment of alternative aircraft to fill the capacity gap.

Last week, a catastrophic crash involving a UPS MD-11 freighter in Louisville, Kentucky, resulted in 14 fatalities. Subsequently, the FAA ordered FedEx, UPS, and Western Global Airlines to halt operations of their MD-11 fleets on Saturday. The inspections are expected to focus on engines and engine mounts—Flight 2976 experienced an engine and pylon detachment during takeoff.

Dietrich revealed that FedEx (NYSE: FDX) mechanics would collaborate closely with Boeing and the FAA to inspect its active fleet of 25 MD-11 freighters in the coming days. The logistics giant operates a total of 34 MD-11s, with six currently idle and three maintained as backups.

"Key to note is that each aircraft will return to service individually upon inspection and approval, rather than waiting for the entire fleet to be cleared," Dietrich said during a virtual presentation at the Baird Global Industrial Conference in Chicago.

This development is positive for the logistics industry, which is currently in peak shipping season. Retailers are racing to move goods to stores and consumers ahead of the holidays, making every available aircraft critical to meeting demand.

As the world's largest cargo airline, FedEx is leveraging the flexibility of its global network to offset the capacity shortfall caused by the MD-11 grounding.

Dietrich outlined two additional measures: deferring scheduled maintenance for some aircraft (which still have remaining flight hours before hitting limits) and diverting cargo to commercial aviation partners.

He added that FedEx is also shifting more packages to its domestic ground network. Of the 25 active MD-11s, 18 are deployed for domestic operations.

Furthermore, during the government shutdown, the FAA required airlines to reduce flight schedules to ease air traffic control strain. The grounded freighters could count toward FedEx's reduction targets. The restrictions, effective Friday across 40 airports, initially canceled 4% of flights, with plans to increase cancellations to 10% by November 14. However, Congress is expected to reach a deal to restore government operations by Thursday, potentially prompting the FAA to rescind the directive soon.

"I’ve met with Boeing executives. There’s strong collaboration and urgency to work with regulators and move past this quickly," FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam told investors and analysts at the conference.