IndiGo receives first freighter

Indian airline IndiGo has taken delivery of its first freighter to build its “CarGo” business.

The Airbus A321 passenger to freighter (P2F) aircraft has been leased by IndiGo from funds serviced by Castlelake Aviation Holdings (Ireland) Limited.

The narrowbody aircraft will be used for both domestic and international flights, transporting products such as valuables, express shipments, perishables, general cargo and documents.

Mahesh Malik, chief commercial officer-CarGo, IndiGo said: “We are pleased to receive our first A321 freighter aircraft.

“CarGo has always been a success story for us especially highlighted during the pandemic. The CarGo business brought in revenues when the scheduled commercial flights were at a standstill.

“Our partnership with the Airbus for [the] freighter programme will further help strengthen our business in the CarGo segment, and act as a strong engine of economic growth for the country.

“We remain optimistic on the future of Indian aviation, clearly, and the place of CarGo within it – and the expansion into a true freighter fleet is a testament of this confidence.”

ST Engineering and Airbus are converting A321s with their joint venture, Elbe FlugzeugWerke (EFW).

The A321P2F offers 24 container positions and supports a payload of up to 27 tonnes.

In February, Airbus received an order for six A321P2Fs from SmartLynx Airlines and delivered its third A321 converted freighter to lessor BBAM for use by Lufthansa.