Regional airline signs up interline agreement with Martinair

PROVIDING A seamless service into Southern Africa for international import and export cargo using OR Tambo International Airport as a transhipment hub is high on the agenda for Airlink Cargo. A recent interline agreement with Netherlands-based Martinair is hopefully the first of several agreements with international carriers. Largely import-driven, it offers shippers the option of importing directly to final destination on the same waybill without having to clear cargo at Ortia. “We’re in discussion with various airlines at the moment and would hope to sign up interline agreements for cargo to and from the East as well as exports to Europe,” says Airlink Cargo MD Alwyn Rautenbach. “Freight forwarders who are not establishing a presence in the Southern African market are missing out on a huge opportunity,” he added. Airlink has been gradually extending its footprint in the region with Lusaka and Pemba among recent additions to its schedule. “Freight to and from Pemba has been doing extremely well,” says Rautenbach. “At the moment we offer two flights a week using a BAE 146 200 which provides us with reasonable cargo capacity.” Growing traffic to and from Antananarivo saw recent addition of a further frequency in October. The airline now flies four times a week on the route. “There’s good demand for cargo, especially outbound. Business relations between South Africa and Madagascar are generally positive and there are all sorts of projects particularly in the mining sector stimulating growth.” While road transport is the preferred option for heavy machinery moving to the copper mines in the DRC and Zambia, airfreight is a very attractive alternative for all kinds of spares, says Rautenbach. Demand has outstripped capacity on several routes, he says. “Ndola is doing very well, as are short routes like Manzini and Maseru, and these are mainly imports from Europe transhipped from other carriers.” Airlink’s comprehensive regional network currently includes Antananarivo, Beira, Bulawayo, Harare, Lusaka, Manzini, Maputo, Maseru, Ndola and Pemba.