Cargolux Italia has started a weekly B747 freighter service from Milan Malpensa to the freighter airline’s Chinese hub in Zhengzhou, via Novosibirsk in Russia.
The intermediate stop marks the first commercial service by Cargolux to Russia, with Novosibirsk being an important Russian gateway for flowers, garments and machinery.
Said Cargolux: “The weekend service is timed to take advantage of the shipping industry’s need to move its weekday production overseas. Commodities on this route include Italian fashion goods, machinery and mechanical spare parts.
“Cargolux Italia’s flights make good use of Zhengzhou as a major gateway to China, from where goods are forwarded to other Chinese markets on Cargolux’s extensive trucking system.”
Pierandrea Galli, chief executive and accountable manager of Cargolux Italia, said: “For Cargolux Italia and the Cargolux group, the new flight to Zhengzhou and Novosibirsk represent the consolidation of the presence in the Italian market with the first flight to the province of Henan and Novosibirsk.”
He added: “The new service underlines Cargolux Italia status as the main all-cargo carrier at Malpensa and main supporter of the Italian customers, in a time of economic recovery for Italian exports.”
Andrea Tucci VP aviation business development, said: “This new flight represents a new service for Malpensa in connecting the two destinations for the first time.
“The direct connection to Zhengzhou is a great opportunity for Malpensa and its territory to improve the freight distribution in the Chinese market through the new Cargolux’s hub.”