Air Atlanta Icelandic in shareholder shake-up

Kenya's Astral Aviation eyes West African, inc'l expansion

Kenya’s Astral Aviation (8V, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) intends to set up a hub in Lomé, Togo in line with plans to target the West African cargo market, while also extending its Southern African network, and spreading its wings intercontinentally, according to chief executive Sanjeev Gadhia.

Speaking at the Routes Online TakeOff Cargo virtual event recently, he said 70% of the East African carrier's future expansion would be inter-African in line with high levels of air cargo growth expected in the coming years following the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021 and new market opportunities that have emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These had resulted in Astral Aviation recording its best annual results to date in 2020. “We carried the highest amount of cargo ever and our revenues were significantly better compared to previous years,” he said.

However, the cargo specialist is also looking to expand intercontinentally. “Hong Kong is very important to us because it’s a gateway, but we’re also looking at flying to new...

Saudia Cargo, Alibaba ink air bridge pact

Saudia Cargo, a division of Saudia (SV, Jeddah), is to operate an air bridge between Asia and Europe via Saudi Arabia to cater to growing demand in e-commerce in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the company announced in a statement.

The cargo specialist will operate 5x weekly flights between Hong Kong Int'l and Liège in Belgium, routing via Riyadh, following the signing of an agreement with China’s Cainiao, the logistic’s arm of the Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant.

Cainiao Network, in a separate statement, said the Middle East was one of the top five overseas markets for the company, with shipment volumes growing 20% year-on-year. “With the launch of new flights, customers in the Middle East will be able to receive their online orders from China in as fast as 10 days. The popular products among Middle Eastern customers are electronic goods, apparel, and household products,” it said.

Middle Eastern airlines posted a 6% rise in international cargo volumes in January 2021 versus 2019, according...

Kenya's Astral Aviation opens Sharjah cargo base

Astral Aviation (8V, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has established its first Middle Eastern base at Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, as part of an expansion of its operations within the region.

Headquartered at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta, the Kenyan cargo specialist, on February 3, began serving Sharjah with two weekly services, using its B767-200(SF), offering capacity for 80 tonnes per week of flowers and vegetables to the UAE, while using the return leg for the distribution of COVID vaccines to and within Africa, according to a statement on the company website.

Astral Aviation is operating the freighter under a five-year lease from Air Transport Services Group. It is the first aircraft ATSG has leased to Astral, as well as the first B767 that Astral has put into service.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sanjeev Gadhia, said: “We will provide a scheduled service for perishables from East Africa to Sharjah for the UAE region, while on the return, Astral’s consolidations from China, and the UAE will be moved from Sharjah to Nairobi...

SmartLynx Airlines Malta to operate two A321Fs for DHL