Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) will wet-lease an A321-200(P2F) from Titan Airways (ZT, London Stansted) for the duration of the summer 2022 season to maintain its cargo-only link from London Heathrow to Brussels National, although the carrier has no long-term plans to remain in the cargo market.

The airline told The Loadstar that the route remained viable due to the ongoing capacity constraints on ferry services between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The demand is driven by pharmaceutical, perishable, and e-commerce freight, mostly transiting the Atlantic via London.

Titan Airways' only A321-200(P2F), G-NIKO (msn 1250), which is currently wet-leased to Amerijet International, will begin operating for Virgin Atlantic at the end of May 2022 until the end of October 2022. Titan's sister carrier, Titan Airways Malta (TM, Malta International), operates another A321-200(P2F), 9H-ZTB (msn 1238).

Virgin Atlantic turned to cargo-only operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, as its long-haul-only passenger operations were brought to a standstill. It has now resumed normal business and considers the cargo ACMI a short-term solution only for the simple season that there is verified demand for freight to and from Brussels. Virgin Atlantic does not serve Brussels or any other continental European destinations with its scheduled passenger flights.