News

Etihad's cargo volumes exceed pre-Covid levels

Etihad Cargo’s cargo volumes is up 20% compared to 2019 and it has reclaimed 90% of its pre-pandemic levels.

It is serving 72 network destinations and its fleet of 65 aircraft are operating 430 weekly rotations in addition to charter flights.

In the last month, flights have been added to Malaga, Mykonos, Santorini, Phuket and Vienna adding belly-hold capacity between Europe and Asia.

Charter operations and removing seats in five of its Boeing 777s has provided additional capacity on key routes including Dhaka and Ho Chi Minh City.

So far this year Etihad Cargo has operated over 200 charter flights across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, of which 20% were on behalf of the UAE government.

Etihad Airways has also released its results for the first half of 2021, saying that increasing cargo volumes and revenue have offset weaker passenger revenue.

The airline carried 365,000 tonnes of freight, up 44% while cargo revenue was up 56% to $800m, offsetting passenger revenue falling 68% to $300m.

First half operating revenue was down from $1.7bn in 2020 to $1.2bn in 2021 while core operating losses were halved to $400m.

As a founding member of the HOPE Consortium, Etihad has distributed Covid-19 vaccines with the consortium handling more than 65 million vaccines in 40 countries.

Etihad’s PharmaLife product offering temperature-controlled services for pharmaceuticals has grown 94% compared to 2020.