Maersk Air Cargo launches Europe-China airfreight service
Maersk Air Cargo has begun scheduled flights to Hangzhou, China from its hub at Billund Airport in Denmark.
The inaugural flight on March 20 marks the start of three weekly flights introducing the “first of three newly converted Boeing B767-300 freighters” that have recently been added to Maersk Air Cargo’s fleet, said shipping giant Maersk in a press release.
Air Cargo News has requested confirmation from Maersk on whether these new converted freighters are the three previously announced B767s leased through ATSG’s Cargo Aircraft Management.
The inaugural flight also marks the first scheduled air cargo operation between Denmark and Asia.
“With the introduction of our new service between Europe and China, we have taken another leap with our customers in providing true integrated logistics,” said Michel Pozas Lucic, global head of Air in A.P. Moller – Maersk
“We want to ensure that our customers have the visibility, reliability, and resilience in their supply chains. In this, airfreight with scheduled flights and controlled capacity represents a crucial part of our customers´ end-to-end logistics needs.”
The corridor from Billund Airport is expected to significantly increase access for high value and time sensitive cargo between Scandinavia, Northern Europe, and the entire Asia-Pacific.
Maersk said its newly opened airfreight hub at Billund Airport enables customers to avoid congestion and delays that are usually seen in larger airports.
The company added that the proximity of aircraft parking apron to Maersk’s airport warehouse facility, allows better control and faster cargo clearance.
The airport facility in Billund houses 4000 m² import and 13,000 m² export facilities. This features separate areas for cold storage, dangerous goods, scanning and ULD handling.
Billund airport will have a Maersk Air Cargo team with pilots and aircraft maintenance staff, a flight operations team and a freight forwarding team available for Maersk customers, said Maersk.
The airline also has another three B767 freighters being operated by Miami-headquartered cargo airline Amerijet.
Amerijet began operating Maersk Air Cargo’s three newbuild Boeing B767-300F freighters on a US-China route last year.
Later flights between Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina (GSP) and Incheon, Korea (ICN) were also added to the partnership.