Salam Air plans to operate several cargo flights a week from Muscat to Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh, Mumbai in India, Istanbul in Turkey, Khartoum in Sudan, and other destinations.
It is using an Airbus A321P2F with a payload of up to 27 tons, the first cargo aircraft used by an Omani airline.
Ivana Meyer, Managing Director of Swissport in Oman, says, “We are very excited to handle the first ever all-cargo flight of an Omani airline and support Salam Air in starting their cargo business. Swissport is ready to provide service excellence as required by the customer and provide any support needed to help drive Salam Air's growth.”
Mohsin Albalushi, Director of Ground Operations at Salam Air, adds, “Our successful partnership with Swissport in Oman led to the decision that they are the right partner to handle our cargo flights. We have full confidence that our extended collaboration which also includes cargo handling, will be a full success and support Salam Air's further growth.”
Low-cost airline Salam Air started passenger services in 2017, and Swissport has been providing the airline with ramp handling and passenger services in Muscat since 2018.
Dirk Goovaerts, Global Cargo Chair and CEO of Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa at Swissport, says, “Our globally recognised expertise in air cargo handling makes Swissport the partner of choice for Salam Air. This is an important moment to establish Oman as a cargo hub and our local team is proud to be a part of it.”