Etihad Cargo introduces Shanghai-Chennai direct route

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, will reinstate a twice-weekly freighter service from Shanghai to Abu Dhabi via Chennai, starting December 8.

The service will provide additional capacity into two key global markets.

“The Indian market is currently booming,” said Martin Drew, senior vice president global sales and cargo at Etihad Aviation Group.

“The country’s industrial production is rising and manufacturing output is rebounding, driven by increases in the production of machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and metals, among others. As part of Etihad Cargo’s commitment to supporting this key market, the carrier has opened up freighter capacity from Chennai to support increased demand from customers in the region.”

The latest addition to Etihad Cargo’s network follows the introduction of twice-weekly direct flights to Guangzhou. With the additional service, Etihad Cargo becomes the first international airline to operate long-haul cargo and passenger services to the three Chinese gateways — Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou — since the beginning of the pandemic.

Etihad Cargo operates 79 weekly flights to India and 11 flights per week to mainland China, providing a total capacity of around 2,000 tonnes from both destinations.

Etihad Cargo recently announced a partnership with IATA to trial a cargo-specific CO2 emission calculation tool, which will provide proof of concept for the cargo component of the IATA CO2 Connect carbon calculator.

Read: IATA, Etihad Cargo to trial CO2 emission calculator for air cargo