Emirates SkyCargo has calibrated its cargo operations to better connect global markets amid the outbreak of Coronavirus.
On March 30, 2020, an Emirates SkyCargo flight carrying close to 500,000 COVID-19 testing kits landed at Sao Paulo airport in Brazil. The kits were moved from Guangzhou via Dubai by the air cargo carrier on the first of two such flights operated to transport supplies to Sao Paulo. During the same week, Emirates also completed two special charters carrying almost 200 tonnes of medical supplies such as hand sanitisers and protective face masks from Hong Kong to Sydney while another flight transported pharmaceutical supplies to Karachi. As part of a special charter operation, an Emirates Boeing 777 freighter transported close to 100 tonnes of relief material including hospital equipment to Milan and over 55 tonnes of highly temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals were flown to New York from Mumbai. Between March and April, the air cargo carrier will also be operating nine freighter flights to Budapest as part of a charter to transport supplies such as face masks and equipment to Hungary.
In addition to transporting critical medical supplies around the world, Emirates SkyCargo is also playing a vital role in bringing food materials into the UAE and the Middle East. During the last week of March, the carrier operated special flights from Pakistan and India to bring in more than 150 tonnes of perishables to Dubai. Dedicated cargo flights from Cairo and Nairobi have also been transporting perishables to Dubai and onwards to other destinations within the Middle East.
Operating within a rapidly changing global environment, Emirates SkyCargo has had to adapt and reinvent its operations and network to make sure that it can continue to facilitate not just transport of essential commodities but also support economies and help businesses around the world maintain continuity by keeping global supply chains up and running. Emirates SkyCargo has announced a new flight schedule for its global cargo operations which also includes cargo flights operated on its Boeing 777 passenger aircraft. These flights will offer around 40 tonnes of lower deck cargo capacity per flight and will supplement the cargo capacity being offered on Emirates’ fleet of freighter aircraft. These cargo-only 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 schedules and destinations for the dedicated cargo flights on passenger aircraft have been planned to keep in mind optimal interconnectivity with Emirates’ scheduled freighter operations.
Source: Emirates
