Emirates SkyCargo, the cargo division of the Dubai-based Emirates airline, is to introduce a dedicated weekly freighter service to Narita International Airport, Tokyo, Japan, from late May.
The soon-to-be-deployed freighter link to Narita International Airport will make available cargo capacity of 100 tonnes each way.
The service will represent the first direct and scheduled freighter connection between Narita and the Middle East.
It will complement Emirates’ existing daily passenger service to Narita that offers bellyhold cargo capacity, as well as the twice-weekly freighter link served by Emirates SkyCargo into Japan’s Kansai International Airport.
After the new freighter link’s introduction, Emirates SkyCargo will offer a total of 300 tonnes of maindeck capacity to Japan.
The service will increase the global network of destinations served by Emirates SkyCargo freighters to 38.
Priority market
According to a statement from Emirates SkyCargo, Japan is a “priority market” for the cargo carrier, given Japan’s “well-established and diverse manufacturing industry”.
The airline expects the new connection to transport commodities including automobile and machinery parts, semi-conductor parts and pharmaceuticals, amongst others.
Badr Abbas, Emirates SkyCargo’s divisional senior vice president, commented: “Expanding our dedicated freighter network is a key priority on our 10-year strategic roadmap and now, as we start to receive our all-new Boeing 777 freighters, we are able to reach new markets with enhanced capacity.
“Demand for our world-class product and services has been steadily growing in Narita, particularly for pharmaceuticals and consumer electronics, transported in the bellyhold of our daily passenger flight, while large or oddly-shaped shipments such as machinery parts were diverted to [Kansai].
“The deployment of this freighter empowers us to better support our global customers with direct connectivity to and through Dubai, while growing our operations in Japan.”
Narita
Narita International Airport is the busiest air gateway in Japan in terms of the value of cargo handled, Emirates noted, and – with significant investment having been allocated
for the ‘New Narita Airport’ Development Plan, the airport’s importance is set to grow yet further, the airline said.
Emirates SkyCargo currently serves four destinations across East and Southeast Asia through 57 dedicated freighter flights a week. This maindeck capacity is complemented by the bellyhold space of over 290 passenger flights a week.
Additional passenger services are also set to be launched by Emirates between Dubai and Siem Reap in Cambodia, to Da Nang in Vietnam and to Shenzhen in China.
WCS
Emirates SkyCargo is the host airline of the IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) currently underway in Dubai.
Aviation services provider dnata, part of the Emirates Group, is a host partner.
