IAG Cargo, a cargo airline, has announced plans to extend its Latin America network by launching a new route into Colombia and reopening its route into Cuba. The new services will connect Cali and Medellín in Colombia and Havana in Cuba to IAG Cargo’s worldwide network of 350 destinations, and will bring the total of IAG Cargo gateways in Latin America to 19.
The services will be run from IAG’s hub in Madrid, Spain from which flights will leave for Havana on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, totalling five weekly flights. The new route from Madrid to the Colombian cities of Cali and Medellin, meanwhile, will operate as triangular flights between Madrid-Medellin-Cali-Madrid. Services will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Both routes will be serviced by Airbus A330s and the flights are timed for connections at Iberia’s T4 hub.
Additionally, IAG Cargo is increasing the number of flights it offers to and from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic from five flights a week to daily.
Steve Gunning, CEO of IAG Carg said, “From pharmaceuticals to perishables Latin America is fast emerging as one of the most important international trade centres – both for production and consumption. From our Madrid hub we have already been able to offer businesses In Latin America and beyond some of the best connectivity options in the world, linking up markets from Asia Pacific all the way across Europe and into Latin America. These new services further enhance our excellent network proposition to and from this region and will be an important enabler of Latin America trade.”
IAG Cargo expects to see good export flows of flowers and fruits from Cali and
Medellín and imports including books and clothes. Cuba’s famous tobacco products, meanwhile, are expected to be amongst the main exports out of Havana, while imports should comprise perishables and mechanical goods. Havana is also an important stopover for the transhipment of goods including flowers, fruits and textiles.
On the Santo Domingo route, IAG Cargo will continue to support the flows of general freight into the Dominican Republic and fruit and vegetables exiting it.
