Etihad Cargo has launched three Boeing 777 freighter services from Europe.
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier has started the services from East Midlands and Stansted airports in the UK and from Copenhagen in Denmark.
David Kerr, senior vice president of the Middle East airline’s cargo division, said: “We have responded to our customers’ demand for freighter capacity out of Europe, and our freighter fleet gives us the flexibility of deploying capacity when and where it is required.
“These three new services will connect producers with consumers halfway around the world.
“Manufacturers in the UK and Denmark can now get their merchandise to their customers in the Middle East even faster, in as little as 24 hours in some cases.”
Peter Krogsgaard, chief operations officer of Copenhagen Airport, said: “Air cargo is of major importance to the Danish business sector. In value terms, more than one third of Danish exports leave the country by air.
“Copenhagen is a strong northern Europe hub for air cargo, and a fast growing international player such as Etihad Cargo will further strengthen our position in the market.”
The new routes bring the number of freighter destinations served by the UAE carrier in Europe to nine.
Etihad Cargo already operates maindeck capacity from Amsterdam, Frankfurt (Frankfurt Main and Frankfurt-Hahn), Milan, Brussels and Zaragoza, as well as belly capacity on its passenger flights from the continent.
According to Eurostat, the European Union (EU) is one of the UAE’s biggest trading partners, with non-oil trade between the two totalling $65bn in 2015. In the same year, the UAE was the eighth largest destination of European exports and the EU’s 13th largest trading partner overall.
