Emirates SkyCargo ramps up India freighter capacity

Emirates SkyCargo has continued to increase its freighter capacity to India as it looks to capitalise on growing demand from the country. The carrier has recently added weekly freighter services to Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad in addition to its existing flights to Mumbai and Ahmedabad. In total, the airline now offers seven weekly freighter flights to India as well as 167 weekly passenger flights. Explaining the decision to expand capacity to India, the cargo business pointed out that airfreight is a critical enabler of India's international trade, facilitating the movement of high-value, time-sensitive goods to global markets. The company added that an estimated 2.2m tonnes of international cargo move through Indian airports annually. During financial year 2025/26, Emirates SkyCargo transported more than 153,000 tonnes of exports from India, it said. Major export commodities transported by the carrier include pharmaceuticals, perishables, high-tech electronics, engineering and automotive components, as well as fashion goods. The carrier also pointed out that trade growth between India and the UAE has been on the rise since the two added a trade agreement in 2022. "With non-oil trade between the two economies growing at an annual rate of around 15%, Emirates SkyCargo has been supporting these accelerating trade flows, supporting more than 28,000 tonnes of exports from India to the UAE in FY25/26, a growth of 24% from the previous year," the company said. Badr Abbas, divisional senior vice president, Emirates SkyCargo, said: "With a fast-growing economy, the country is strengthening its position as a hub for manufacturing and production, expanding exports and trade corridors across the world. "We have recently deployed our freighter aircraft to three additional gateways in India to support customers seamlessly transport their goods to global markets." The carrier said that it also has a Road Feeder Network in the country, which over the last 12 months had carried more than 4,500 tonnes of import and export cargo to enable businesses outside of gateway cities to access Emirates SkyCargo's global network. The additional flights are the second time the carrier has expanded its Indian freighter network this year. In March, the carrier added extra flights to Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

China Eastern selects WFS after resuming Stockholm flights

China Eastern has resumed flights to Stockholm after a six-year absence and has selected WFS to provide cargo handling services. The airline restarted flights between Shanghai Pudong and Arlanda in June, flying three times per week utilising Airbus A330 metal. In line with the resumption of flights, the company signed a three-year deal with handler WFS, which previously acted as the airline's cargo handler in Sweden. The flights operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and are expected to carry around 1,000 tonnes of cargo between the cities each year. The airline stopped operating to the airport as a result of the Covid pandemic. WFS Sweden managing director Kim Elfström said: "We enjoyed a strong working relationship in Sweden before the pandemic and have maintained our close Scandinavian ties with the airline through our ongoing contract in Copenhagen. "We look forward to supporting China Eastern's return to Sweden and its future growth on this important route." WFS operates two cargo terminals at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, covering a footprint of over 18,000 sq m and including its new Good Distribution Practice (GDP)-certified pharma handling facilities and road transport services. The company now provides cargo handling and trucking services for over 20 international airlines and freight forwarding clients. In the last 12 months in Stockholm, WFS has also renewed its cargo contract with Singapore Airlines and won a new handling agreement with Norse Atlantic Airways.

Awery appoints Cornelia Korsch global development director

Awery Aviation Software has recruited former WebCargo by Freightos executive Cornelia Korsch as global development director for Awery and its CargoBooking platform. The appointment is an interesting move in the increasingly competitive air cargo booking technology market, Ms Korsch joining after more than three years at rival digital booking platform WebCargo. She will be responsible for bringing in additional airlines and capacity and increasing adoption of the platform by freight forwarders. Ms Korsch joined WebCargo in November 2022 as global sales manager for airline partnerships, becoming account manager in February last year. She previously spent more than seven years with AirBridgeCargo Airlines in a series of commercial positions, most recently business development manager for digital sales in Europe. Her career in air cargo spans more than 30 years and includes more than two decades with Cargolux. Ms Korsch said: "I'm looking forward to bringing my experience with airlines and technology providers to CargoBooking and working across the air cargo community to help them reach more customers and maximise the opportunities that digital distribution can offer." Awery founder and CEO Vitaly Smilianets said Ms Korsch's understanding of airline requirements from digital booking platforms would be "invaluable" as CargoBooking sought to add carriers and capacity. The appointment follows Awery's recruitment last week of Gianluca Marcangelo, formerly of Challenge Group and Champ Cargosystems, as EVP global sales, as the aviation software company strengthens its commercial team.