Emirates SkyCargo calibrates cargo operations

Delhi: Emirates SkyCargo is operating dedicated cargo flights to Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram, ensuring key trade lanes are kept open during these challenging times and showing solidarity with India and the global community.

Linking India to the world

Despite current challenges, Emirates SkyCargo’s freighters and cargo-only flights to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram continue to ensure the flow of essential commodities from across the far corners of the world to and from India.

  • Cargo airline announces dedicated cargo flights to seven destinations in India to ensure the flow of essential goods
  • Maintains vital air cargo links across the globe to transport COVID-19 testing kits, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment

Last week, Emirates SkyCargo carried around 140 tonnes of equipment and commodities to Bengaluru and Mumbai from the Far East, USA, Europe and its hub in Dubai. From Bengaluru, the cargo airline carried around 70 tonnes of medical equipment and perishables to destinations in the GCC and Europe.

Impressively, Emirates SkyCargo made a record uplift of 52 tonnes of perishables, including fruits and vegetables, from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai and the GCC countries that rely on India for their crucial food supply- in the process supporting local farmers and business in Kerala. Another 83 tonnes of perishables made their way from Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai to these destinations.

Flying medicines and equipment across India and beyond

Emirates Pharma is helping heal the world by uplifting pharma products and medical equipment from India and beyond. Emirates SkyCargo’s dedicated air transport solution for temperature-sensitive pharma offers industry-leading cool chain solutions and connects India’s suppliers to the rest of the world, supporting the economy at a critical time. Last week, Emirates SkyCargo flew a charter operation carrying 60 tonnes of life-saving pharma from Mumbai to New York, while a scheduled freighter from Ahmedabad uplifted 80 tonnes of mostly pharmaceuticals to destinations across the US, Europe, and Australia.

Emirates SkyCargo flew close to 500,000 COVID-19 testing kits from Guangzhou to Sao Paulo, Brazil on 30 March 2020. An Emirates Boeing 777 freighter transported close to 100 tonnes of relief material including hospital equipment to Milan. Emirates SkyCargo also operated two special charters carrying almost 200 tonnes of medical supplies such as hand sanitisers and protective face masks from Hong Kong to Sydney last week. Dedicated cargo flights from Cairo and Nairobi have also been transporting perishables to destinations in the Middle East.

Maximisation of capacity to serve India and the world

Emirates SkyCargo is not just operating its entire fleet of 11 freighters, but also Emirates’ Boeing 777 passenger aircraft as cargo-only flights across continents to keep global trade lanes open and serve communities that are most affected. Cargo flights are scheduled to operate to over 30 destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia with a majority of destinations being served with multiple weekly and daily flights. The Boeing 777 passenger aircraft offer around 40 tonnes of lower deck cargo capacity per flight and schedules for these have been planned keeping in mind optimal connectivity with Emirates’ scheduled freighter operations.

Abdulla AlKhallafi, Emirates’ Cargo Manager India, said: “In these challenging times, Emirates SkyCargo stands by its commitment to India and the global community to act as a global conveyor belt for transporting essential commodities such as food, medicines, machinery and other commodities vital for communities and businesses.

Our agility in operations and a customer-centric approach has allowed us to establish a new network and an updated schedule for our cargo operations within a very short span of time. We have maximised our capacity by using the lower deck capacity on our wide-bodied Boeing 777 passenger aircraft, which supplement the cargo capacity we offer on our freighter aircraft. Additionally, we have temporarily shifted all our cargo handling operations to Dubai International airport (DXB) to consolidate operations. This will enable us to reduce costs and response times to requests coming in from India and beyond.”

Consolidation of operations at Dubai International airport

From 1 April 2020, Emirates SkyCargo will consolidate all its cargo handling operations at Dubai International airport, temporarily suspending operations at Emirates SkyCentral DWC, the terminal handling Emirates’ freighters. The move will help the cargo airline streamline cargo operations between its freighters and the new dedicated cargo flights on Emirates’ passenger aircraft.

More details on Emirates SkyCargo’s scheduled operations can be found on the air cargo airline’s website.

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