Emirates SkyCargo has announced that its first passenger flight from Dubai to Amsterdam in the Netherlands will also mark the opening of a new trade channel, with the plane's cargo hold set to be packed full of extra products including fresh produce.
Commodities from international regions including the Indian sub-continent, Africa, the Far East and Australasia will be transported on the inaugural service.
'When we talk about our new routes lubricating trade, this is exactly what we mean,' said Salem Obaidalla, senior vice president for Europe and Russia at Emirates. 'Each time we start a new service, new avenues of trade are created and in this case that can only help the economies of the UAE and the Netherlands. Emirates will provide a significant boost to commercial and tourism activity.'
Emirates has been serving Amsterdam with freighters for more than 15 years, the group noted.
'This flight's cargo manifest is from all over the place; Lahore, Kolkata, Colombo, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Dubai, Bengaluru, Hong Kong, Melbourne,' said Ram Menen, divisional senior vice-president for cargo. 'While we're used to seeing such a wealth of commodities on our flights, it's great to see such variety in the belly hold of an inaugural.
'This daily passenger service will also provide an extra outlet for goods being moved from our particularly busy African markets of Kenya and Ethiopia,' he added.
