Dubai’s Emirates SkyCargo expands operations to transport essential items

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of carrier Emirates, has increased its cargo services to connect global destinations in a bid to deliver food, medical supplies and other essential commodities during the Covid-19 pandemic, it announced on April 9.

The air cargo carrier currently operates flights to 51 destinations worldwide, of which 19 cities are serviced by the Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 777 freighter aircraft offering up to 100 tonnes of capacity per flight and 38 destinations are served by cargo flights on Emirates’ Boeing 777 passenger aircraft offering up to 50 tonnes belly capacity.

Nabil Sultan, Emirates divisional senior vice president, cargo, said: “We have particularly ramped up operations for transporting cargo in the bellyhold of our passenger aircraft in the last two weeks.”

“Emirates SkyCargo has been expanding its network on a daily basis and some of the latest destinations for our cargo flights on passenger aircraft include Bangkok, Casablanca, Johannesburg, Singapore and Taipei. Air cargo remains the fastest means of connecting essential supplies to those that need them and our expanded network allows for increased connectivity across different global origins and destinations.”

During the week ending April 4, Emirates SkyCargo had operated over 160 flights on its freighter aircraft and close to 90 flights on its passenger aircraft. The following week, the air cargo carrier had operated nearly 160 flights on its passenger aircraft alone. Emirates SkyCargo has transferred all its cargo handling operations in the emirate to Dubai International Airport in a bid to cut costs.

Emirates SkyCargo has also operated an increasing number of special charter flights for cargo both on its freighter and passenger aircraft. Since the beginning of April, the carrier has flown more than 30 charter flights connecting over 20 global destinations, mainly transporting medical supplies including face masks, protective covers, sanitisers, equipment for hospitals as well as pharmaceuticals, raw materials and spare parts.

Meanwhile, Emirates SkyCargo has helped import more than 33,000 tonnes of perishable items and more than 1,700 tonnes of pharmaceuticals into the UAE since the beginning of the year.

Food items have been brought in from various markets including Australia, India, Kenya and Pakistan.

“With our expanded network now covering more than 50 global destinations, we are able to ensure a constant supply of food and medicines from across the world into the UAE,” said Sultan.

Globally, the air cargo carrier has transported more than 93,000 tonnes of perishables and more than 20,000 tonnes of pharmaceuticals. It has also transported more than 3,000 tonnes of medical supplies.