Chinese imports fill up new Emirates freighter

“IT’S THE best thing that happened to our import customers.” That’s the word from SA-based Emirates SkyCargo cargo manager Kum Naicker on the recent launch of the airline’s freighter on the Dubai – SA route. “We have no problem filling it and in fact can’t do justice to the volumes available. “The majority – 60-70% - originates in China,” says Naicker, who believes the stronger rand clearly has something to do with it. The dedicated cargo freighter was launched on October 1, deploying a Boeing 747-400F with capacity for 124 tonnes. It supplements the current 182 tonnes of belly-hold capacity in its Airbus A340-300 double daily services and boosts capacity to more than 300 tonnes of cargo per week. According to well-placed sources, if demand persists, a second rotation could be in the pipeline for the New Year.