Coronavirus: Etihad Cargo increases freighter services to capacity-constrained markets

March 18, 2020: Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of the Etihad Aviation Group, has boosted its freighter schedule for the IATA summer season to capacity-constrained markets with decreased passenger operations or temporary travel bans due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The seasonal schedule addresses current demand for flights to key destinations including Amsterdam, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Milan, Paris and Singapore.

In Asia, the seasonal plan doubles Etihad Cargo’s Hong Kong services to four flights per week, while Hanoi gains a third-weekly service and Singapore a second weekly flight. These additions complete the currently operated seasonal winter schedule across China, India and Bangladesh.

Running from March 29 to October 28, Etihad Cargo’s summer schedule has weekly freighter flights added to European cities including Amsterdam, Milan and Paris, as well as increased freighter frequencies to major African cargo gateways.

In Europe, with two extra weekly freighter flights Amsterdam goes to five times weekly service, Milan moves to a twice-weekly turnaround freighter service, while Etihad Cargo will launch new freighter connections linking Abu Dhabi with Paris. The new freighter flights will depart Abu Dhabi International Airport for Paris Charles De Gaulle on Thursdays and Saturdays. The same day return services will add 200 tons of incremental weekly freight capacity between the UAE and the French capital. These services will be complemented by the increase in services into Johannesburg and Nairobi, to twice weekly.

North America remains a key market with Etihad Cargo’s twice-weekly freighter service to Rickenbacker in the United States, with stopovers on the inbound and outbound sectors offering key capacity between Europe and North America.

Abdulla Mohamed Shadid, managing director cargo and logistics, Etihad Aviation Group, said “With widespread commercial flight restrictions in numerous international markets, the air cargo environment is evolving daily. After consulting closely with local and international authorities, our optimised summer freighter schedule is designed to significantly boost capacity and service customers in key cargo markets.”