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GURUGRAM, August 22, 2020: SpiceJet, India’s favourite airline and the largest air cargo operator, operated its first-ever long-haul cargo flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai using its wide-body Airbus A340 aircraft today. The aircraft will operate from Mumbai to Khartoum in Sudan tomorrow. SpiceJet is the first and only Indian carrier to operate non-stop cargo services from Europe on a dedicated freighter.
Adding Netherlands to its international cargo network, SpiceJet carried 13 tonnes of cargo supplies to Mumbai. The flight departed from the Dutch capital at 10.50 PM (local time) on August 21, 2020 and reached Mumbai at 10.54 AM (local time) today.
The A340 freighter will fly from Mumbai to Khartoum on August 23 carrying 40 tonnes of cargo. This will be SpiceJet's first non-stop flight to Africa. The airline has earlier flown to Sudan via Ras Al-Khaimah.
Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet said, “Today is a proud moment and a huge milestone in SpiceJet’s remarkable journey as India’s leading cargo operator as we successfully operated our first wide-body long-haul flight from Europe. The induction of our first Airbus A340 cargo aircraft has significantly enhanced our operational capability and will allow us to operate non-stop cargo services across the globe to destinations in Europe, Africa and CIS countries.”
Amidst the greatest crisis ever to hit global aviation, SpiceJet has emerged as India’s No. 1 cargo company. The airline has operated over 5764 cargo flights and transported over 31800 tonnes of cargo – this is more than double of all domestic airlines combined together – carrying medicines and medical equipment and fruits and vegetables to all corners of India and the world since March 25, 2020.
SpiceJet operated the country’s first cargo-on-seat flight on April 7 carrying vital supplies in passenger cabin & belly space. Since then, the airline has been regularly deploying its B737 and Q400 passenger aircraft to carry cargo in the passenger cabin.
SpiceJet’s international cargo network now spans over 42 international destinations that include Amsterdam, Rome, Almaty, Abu Dhabi, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bishkek, Cambodia, Cairo, Cebu, Chad, Colombo, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Huangzhou, Incheon, Jakarta, Kabul, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kyrgyzstan, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Male, Myanmar, Shanghai, Singapore, Sharjah, Sulaymaniyah, Tashkent, Ukraine, among others. The airline has also been actively using Ras Al-Khaimah airport as a hub for its cargo operations.
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