Emirates SkyCargo’s new native facility, named as ‘Emirates SkyCentral’ has been inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group, at the Logistics District in Dubai South, according to a statement from the company.
Launched at the same time as the annual Dubai Air Show, the new cargo facility will be home to Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet of 15 freighter aircraft, which is made up of 13 Boeing 777-Fs and two 747-400 ERFs.
Speaking at the launch, Nabil Sultan, Emirates divisional senior vice-president, Cargo, commented; “The opening of Emirates SkyCentral is an important milestone for us, as it represents our vision for future growth and firmly establishes Emirates SkyCargo as the world’s leading air cargo carrier across all its operational areas. The space it currently occupies on the land allocated to us at Dubai South is part of a much bigger area, which we can develop over time to increase our cargo handling capacity to achieve our vision of 12 million tonnes annually by 2050, from the current 2.3 million tonnes.
This facility also features the best and latest of what the air cargo industry has to offer, and enables us to give our customers a world class, efficient and seamless service no matter what their requirements. It also further establishes Dubai as a leading global air cargo hub, which has the advantage of a strategic location in the centre of trade between East and West. It takes a lot of work to bring a facility such as this to reality, and I want to thank everyone for their support and commitment in making it happen, from the Government of Dubai and its various departments, to the contractors and staff of Emirates SkyCargo.”
Located just under 80 kilometres from Dubai International Airport (DXB), the opening of the new facility is anticipated to support Emirates’ position as a major air cargo and logistics hub, which primarily services the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
In March earlier this year, Emirates SkyCargo was acknowledged for its performance at the Air Cargo Africa Awards where it scooped both the “Global Cargo Airline of the Year” and “Air Cargo Brand of the Year”. At the time of the award, SkyCargo operated from 27 African points, including nine cargo and passenger routes such as Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Accra and Entebbe.
