The Emirates SkyCargo A380 ‘mini-freighter’ Cargo Operations
By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
With the calibrated opening of the global economy in some parts of the world, the inevitable cargo capacity surged took place due to the long month lockdowns that piled up cargoes and created a logistics nightmare for many companies.
Ensuring that these market needs are properly addressed and help the global economic rebound, Emirates SkyCargo has started utilizing its Airbus A380 aircraft on select cargo charter operations to transport urgently required cargo across its network.
Dubbed as ‘mini-freighter’, this is the first dedicated aircraft Emirates A380 that has successfully transported medical supplies between Seoul and Amsterdam via Dubai.
Working collaboratively with the Engineering and Flight Operations teams within Emirates, the air cargo carrier has optimized the cargo capacity of the Airbus A380 to safely transport around 50 tonnes of cargo per flight in the bellyhold of the aircraft.
Emirates SkyCargo has introduced dedicated cargo operations on the A380 aircraft in response to the surge in the demand for air cargo capacity required for the urgent transportation of critical goods, including medical supplies for combatting COVID-19 in regions experiencing a second wave of the pandemic.
Furthermore, Emirates SkyCargo is working on optimizing the capacity of its Airbus A380 aircraft through measures such as seat loading of cargo and has planned more dedicated cargo flights on aircraft for the month of November.
Being a leading player in the global air cargo industry with a destination network spread across six continents, Emirates SkyCargo has continued to introduce innovative cargo solutions in line with rapidly evolving market conditions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The freight division of Emirates offers a variety of options for cargo capacity and connectivity to best match its customers’ requirements. Emirates SkyCargo operates dedicated cargo flights on its Boeing 777-F and its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft including 14 modified Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft with seats removed from Economy Class for additional cargo volume.
Through its responsiveness and agility, the air cargo carrier has been able to maintain the flow of essential goods and trade across international markets during the pandemic, often providing a much-required helpline to communities around the world.
Taking a lead in the supply chain for the global distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, Emirates SkyCargo announced recently that it set up the world’s largest EU GDP compliant airside hub in Dubai dedicated to the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition to world-class fit for purpose infrastructure for the storage of the vaccine, the facility would also be able to offer value-added services such as repackaging, re-icing, and redistribution of the vaccine. The air cargo carrier has also set up a rapid response team to coordinate requests for the movement of the vaccine.
Emirates SkyCargo currently offers cargo capacity on scheduled flights to 135 destinations across the world.