The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has extended rules allowing carriers to utilize passenger planes as freighters temporarily until next year.

The extension means passenger planes will continue to be allowed to serve as temporary freighters until at least the end of July next year.

Airlines have been removing passenger seats from aircraft to hold cargo as the outbreak of the pandemic caused passenger demand to drop. Meanwhile, cargo demand has increased with the need to move life-saving healthcare needs as well as growing e-commerce segment.

EASA noted that to be able to continue utilizing passenger planes as freightes, carriers should meet designated operational requirements around fire protection. 

The regulator also imposed limits to the number of planes that can be converted — and the number of hours to be taken by each aircraft.

EASA said the number of converted planes was "significantly lower" than what it initially expected.

Meanwhile, in July, the US Federal Aviation Administration moved to extend the same exception that will allow airlines to carry freight in the aircraft cabin until year end.