ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES NOW HAS 1 MILLION TONS AIR CARGO THROUGHPUT FACILITY
(Posted 23rd April 2019)
Ethiopian Airlines’ new air cargo terminal, operational since the start of the year and through the teething period, extends over more than 38.000 square metres of dedicated spaces, able to process, land and trans-ship any air cargo, be it refrigerated or regular shipments.
The refrigerated section alone comprises some 17.000 square metres, large enough to serve as a key trans shipment platform for flowers, fresh fish, vegetables and fruits exported by African countries to the key consumer markets in Europe, the Gulf and beyond with Ethiopian Airlines serving some 60 destinations with passenger aircraft capable of uplifting cargo too and of course even more locations by dedicated freighter services.
Tewolde Gebremariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, said: ‘In the long term, in making this investment, we want to establish our capital not only as a freight hub for the African continent, but also as an international cargo hub‘ before ambitiously laying down a challenge to the likes of Dubai, that the Ethiopian Airlines Group for all intent and purpose has their eyes set on becoming the continent’s foremost air cargo facility, setting new standards for Africa.
And, as if the present size of the facility is not enough are plans already in place to further expand the cargo terminal by an initial 200.000 additional tons in the not too distant future to meet the anticipated fast growing demand for quality air cargo services.
Only recently, as reported here (https://atcnews.org/2019/03/01/ethiopianairlines-takes-delivery-of-first-boeing-b738f/) did Ethiopian Airlines take delivery of two B737 Freighters, boosting their dedicated cargo capacity even further.
