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Emirates SkyCargo expands Africa network

Dubai, January 24, 2012

Emirates SkyCargo has announced plans to bolster its operations on the booming Africa trade route with flights to the capitals of Zambia and Zimbabwe starting from next month.

The freight division of Emirates, one of the fastest growing international airlines, said the addition of flights to Lusaka and Harare comes less than three months after the launch of a dedicated weekly freighter to Accra and Lome.

The two new gateways mean Emirates SkyCargo can connect businesses in 22 countries across Africa to its network of more than 100 destinations, while also providing increased opportunities for key trading partners such as China and Japan.

Supporting the thriving trade between Africa and the rest of the world, its weekly cargo capacity into and out of the continent will be over 6,000 tonnes after the launch of flights to Lusaka and Harare on February 1.

The Dubai-Lusaka-Harare service will be operated five times a week by an A330-200, providing a total weekly cargo capacity of up to 160 tonnes.

South Africa - with a weekly capacity of more than 1500 tonnes spread across the belly-hold of 84 passenger flights serving Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, as well as two dedicated Johannesburg freighters – is Emirates SkyCargo’s key trading point on the continent.

With this Emirates SkyCargo now has a total annual capacity of more than 300,000 tonnes.

“While many regions are experiencing challenging economic conditions, Africa – with a population in excess of one billion and rich in natural resources - is one of the few areas to record growth and the long-term outlook is very positive,” said Ram Menen, Emirates’ divisional senior VP Cargo.

“We expect demand to be strong for a variety of commodities going into and out of Lusaka and Harare and have no doubt the two destinations will be a strong addition to our African network.”

Dedicated freighters also operate to Eldoret and Lilongwe, while the other points on Emirates SkyCargo’s African network – Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Accra, Cairo, Casablanca, Dakar, Dar el Salaam, Entebbe, Khartoum, Lagos, Luanda, Nairobi, Tripoli, and Tunisia – are served using either the belly-hold of wide-body passenger aircraft, or a combination of the belly-hold and freighters.

“We have slowly built up our presence on the continent since we launched flights to Cairo in 1986 and in recent years, as Africa started to realise its huge potential, we began operating to Cape Town, Durban, Luanda and Dakar,” added Menen.

The flight EK 713 will depart Dubai on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 9.25am and arrive in Lusaka at 2.50pm. The service will depart Lusaka at 4.20pm, arriving in Harare at 5.20pm.

On return, the flight will leave Harare at 7.20pm, arriving Lusaka at 8.20pm. It will then take off from Lusaka at 9.50pm and land in Dubai at 7.10am the next day.

“With such a comprehensive service now in place we are in a good position to help sustain Africa’s continued economic development by facilitating international trade with its business partners and opening it up to new markets on our ever-expanding network,” he noted.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Africa | Flights | Emirates SkyCargo | Zimbabwe | Zambia |

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