Emirates SkyCargo scales up operations in Pakistan to transport essential commodities

Emirates SkyCargo’s unwavering commitment to Pakistan is ensuring essential commodities such as food and medical supplies are transported to and from the country, despite the capacity and operational challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. And in the process, the air cargo operator has also managed to set two key industry records. 

The air cargo operator is currently flying four weekly services to Lahore and three to Karachi using the airline’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which normally have the capacity to carry between 40-50 tonnes of belly-hold cargo without passengers. Emirates SkyCargo’s two flights from Karachi to Dubai, one on 10 April with a load of 63 tonnes in the lower deck, and another on 15 April with a load of 62.7 tonnes in the lower deck, were considered industry records at the time.

Emirates SkyCargo is transporting meat, fish, vegetables, fabric, courier cargo and sanitisers from Pakistan to markets in London, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh, Bahrain and Muscat on its network. The air cargo operator is flying in essential medical supplies such as pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, face masks, and lab test kits, as well as electronics and courier. 

Emirates SkyCargo has also started to safely carry commodities in the overhead bins and seats of the cabin by following all safety guidelines.

Faisal Yaqoob, Emirates’ Cargo Manager Pakistan said: “Although these are challenging times, Emirates SkyCargo is fully committed to supporting Pakistan. In April, we carried around 935 tonnes of exports from Pakistan and around 705 tonnes of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to the country from around the world. Our two key products – Emirates Pharma and Emirates Fresh – help ensure end-to-end cool chain integrity for temperature-sensitive commodities as we draw on our expertise as a global leader for the transportation of pharmaceuticals and perishables. Despite not operating passenger services, which has severely impacted our cargo capacity, we believe it’s important to maintain the supply chain of essential commodities in Pakistan. We consider this our responsibility.”

Global operations

Emirates SkyCargo is operating scheduled cargo flights to 67 global destinations across six continents, acting as a conveyor belt for transporting essential supplies. Of these destinations, the airline’s Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft operate cargo flights to 56 destinations, and Boeing 777-F aircraft serve 23 cities.

In April, Emirates SkyCargo:

•       Operated over 2,500 cargo flights – more than 1,650 on its Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft and over 850 on its Boeing 777 freighters – to over 80 destinations on scheduled and special charter services. 
•       Operated more than 170 charter flights, with a majority transporting relief materials
•       transported an estimated 10,000 tonnes of personal protective equipment, medical equipment, devices and pharmaceuticals on scheduled and charter flights.

Since January 2020, Emirates SkyCargo has: 

•       transported more than 375,000 tonnes of cargo. 
•       Flown more than 85,000 tonnes of food around the world, continuing to support local agriculture and exporters while ensuring consumers have access to fruits, vegetables and other fresh produce in local stores. 

Operating in Pakistan since 1985, Emirates SkyCargo has been a facilitator of the country’s trade, connecting businesses and markets to 155+ destinations across 80+ countries in six continents.