Virgin Atlantic plans to operate 90 cargo flights per week in May as production begins to restart and coronavirus-related demand continues.
The UK airline said that the move would cater for prime freight markets in the US, Hong Kong and China, India, Israel and South Africa.
Virgin Atlantic said that it had 14 aircraft at its disposal for cargo-only operations, including four A350s capable of carrying up to 49 tonnes of goods.
The airline will also operate cargo-only flights through Dublin for the first time to cater for Ireland’s medical technology, electronics and other industries to achieve same day connections to New York JFK, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv and Johannesburg.
Services will be operated using the airline’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which can carry up to 55 tonnes of cargo.
Virgin Atlantic will also increase its ability to offer exclusive cargo charters, which currently average 13 flights per week. The May flying programme includes:
▪ 17 flights a week to/from JFK
▪ 9 flights a week to/from Los Angeles
▪ Twice-weekly services from JFK and Los Angeles to Dublin
▪ Twice-weekly departures from Dublin to London
▪ Daily flights to/from Shanghai
▪ 4 x weekly services to/from Hong Kong
▪ Twice-weekly flights to/from Tel Aviv
▪ Three services a week to/from Johannesburg
▪ The resumption of two weekly flights to/from Mumbai
Dominic Kennedy, managing director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said: "In the current operating environment, we have the ability to increase our cargo-only services quickly and to flex up our schedules in line with demand.
"We also expect an increase in customers seeking cargo charters, which we are ready and able to support."
