Cathay Cargo to route Europe freighters via India
With Dubai off its network, Cathay Cargo shifts Europe freighter tech stops to Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru and adds a leased A330F from mid-November.
Cathay Cargo’s freighters to Europe will make technical stops in India this winter, at the new Navi Mumbai International Airport and in Bengaluru. The airline is also adding an Airbus A330P2F converted freighter, on long-term lease from Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), which is expected to start operating by mid-November.
Dominic Perret, Director Cargo, Cathay Cargo, was speaking exclusively to STAT Publishing Group in Miami during The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) Air Cargo Forum, for the new season of Conversations, presented by AGOS Aviation.
Cathay Cargo has not flown to Dubai or Riyadh since the conflict in the Middle East broke out at the end of February. Dubai had served as the midpoint for five of the carrier’s weekly freighters to Europe, and flying direct would mean “about a 20 percent payload haircut,” Perret said.
Through the summer, those freighters made technical stops in Astana, Kazakhstan. With the weather there getting more difficult in winter, they will now stop in India instead. Perret credited the airline’s India operations team with setting up both routings. The weekly Riyadh freighter has been moved to other markets, including Southeast Asia.
This story was originally published by STAT Times. Read the full story at STAT Times →
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