The Boeing 767-300F services are operated by LATAM Cargo Chile, departing Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands on Mondays and Brussels Airport in Belgium on Thursdays.
The services will offer 1,600 tonnes of cargo capacity into Florianopolis International Airport in Santa Catarina annually.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Friday 26 April to celebrate the arrival of the first freighter, which was attended by senior local figures including Jorginho Mello, Governor of Santa Catarina, Topázio Neto, Mayor of Florianopolis and Beto Martins, Secretary of Ports and Airports of Santa Catarina.
Jorge Carretero, Central Europe Cargo Sales Manager at LATAM, says, “We have increasingly expanded our connectivity and having a route that will offer even more efficiency and agility in cargo transportation between the European market and southern Brazil reaffirms LATAM's commitment to the country and how the company is attentive to the market and willing to invest strategically and sustainably.”
LATAM Cargo Brasil connected Florianopolis with Miami in 2020 and increased the frequency from two flights a week to three in December 2023.
The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays offer over 50 tons of cargo using B767-300Fs.
Ricardo Gesse, CEO of Zurich Airport Brasil, the airport’s operator, says the airport has invested R$9 million to increase capacity at the airport’s cargo centre by 400% and the terminal had the best start to a year in its history.
Gesse says, “LATAM Cargo has been our partner since the beginning of this growth, with the first international cargo route in the history of Santa Catarina connecting Miami to Floripa, inaugurated in 2020, and now, once again, is by our side on the unprecedented Europe route.”