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Emirates SkyCargo marks one year of passenger freighter operations

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•       Emirates SkyCargo was one of the first air cargo carriers globally to
introduce cargo only flights on passenger aircraft to transport PPE and
other essential supplies
•       The air cargo carrier has operated more than 27,800 cargo only flights
on passenger aircraft in one year
•       Around 100,000 tonnes of essential supplies including pharma and food
transported on these flights – equivalent to 1000 full flights on the
Boeing 777 freighter.

Dubai, UAE, 16 March 2021- On Monday, 16 March 2020, Emirates flight EK
2503 took off from Dubai to Kuwait. Although operated on a Boeing
777-300ER passenger aircraft, EK 2503 carried no passengers but about 34
tonnes of bellyhold cargo that was urgently required in Kuwait.

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It was the first time in the history of its operations that Emirates had
operated a cargo only flight on a passenger aircraft. Coming just four
days after COVID-19 had been declared a pandemic by the World Health
Organization (WHO), EK 2503 would be the first of more than 27,800 cargo
flights to be operated by Emirates SkyCargo in the year that followed as
the cargo carrier worked ceaselessly to keep communities across the
world connected to the essential medical and food supplies they needed
during the pandemic.

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Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo said: “It
has been exactly one year since what was considered impossible in the
air cargo industry became not just a reality but a strong operational
pillar for Emirates SkyCargo. Prior to the pandemic, nearly two thirds
of our total cargo was transported in the bellyhold of our passenger
flights. With increasing flight suspensions and restrictions on
passenger travel imposed due to COVID-19 in early March 2020, we could
foresee a situation where there would no longer be adequate cargo
capacity available in the market to transport essential supplies.

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“In order to bolster the cargo capacity offered by our 11 Boeing 777
freighters and make sure that we could meet the urgent demand for goods
such as PPE, ventilators and other pharmaceutical goods and food
supplies from across the world, we proactively made a radical and
innovative plan to utilize our wide body passenger aircraft to operate
cargo only flights. We trialed this passenger freighter concept with a
flight to Kuwait on 16th March last year. Over the next few weeks, as
regular passenger operations were completely suspended, we started
increasing our passenger freighter flights to a point where we had close
to 90 passenger aircraft being used for cargo operations.

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“Our team worked tirelessly to flesh out a new business model from the
ground up- seeking approvals from authorities, drawing up a new route
network, drafting new operational and safety guidelines and speaking to
our customers around the world – to make sure that as a socially
responsible carrier, we were able to maintain essential supplies of
cargo into markets and at the same time sustain exports around the world
in challenging economic conditions.

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“Our passenger freighter strategy has been the backbone of our
operations during the pandemic transporting cargo to more than 125
destinations across six continents. It has showcased our resilience as a
global facilitator of trade and supply chains. With resumption and
growth in passenger operations, we have started gradually moving towards
our traditional model but our passenger freighters continue to remain a
strong component of the COVID-19 pandemic response.”
To meet the global demand for transport of PPE and essential supplies,
Emirates SkyCargo followed up on the introduction of passenger freighter
services with further innovations including the loading of cargo on
passenger seats and in overhead bins inside the passenger cabin and
introducing ‘mini freighters’ which were Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with
seats removed from Economy Class to make more room for transporting
cargo. Emirates SkyCargo currently has 16 Boeing 777-300ER
mini-freighters for cargo operations.

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Emirates SkyCargo has operated more than 27,800 cargo only flights on
passenger aircraft during the last year. These flights have helped
transport more than 100,000 tonnes of essential supplies including PPE,
COVID-19 testing kits, ventilators, pharmaceuticals, vaccines and food.
This is the equivalent of cargo carried over 1000 full flights on the
Boeing 777 freighter aircraft.
Emirates SkyCargo’s flights helped maintain food security in a number of
import reliant markets while also providing an income stream to
communities dependent on agricultural exports. The air cargo carrier
also operated a record number of charter flights using passenger
aircraft exclusively to transport cargo.

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Emirates SkyCargo has been leading the global air cargo industry’s
response for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The air cargo
carrier has set up a dedicated GDP certified airside hub in Dubai for
COVID-19 vaccines and has also partnered with leading Dubai based
entities and with UNICEF for the rapid transport of COVID-19 vaccines to
developing nations through Dubai. Emirates SkyCargo’s passenger
freighters have also played a key role in the transport of COVID-19
vaccines.

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