Emirates adds flights to Cairo, expands network reach

Today, Dubai-based Emirates said it will add four additional weekly flights between Dubai (DXB) and Cairo (CAI).

The new flights will be operated by a 777-300ER and will offer an additional 160 tonnes of belly cargo capacity per week to and from CAI. Currently, 800 tonnes of cargo capacity is available through the carrier’s existing flights on the same route.

The four new flights will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, and will increase Emirates’ total weekly flights serving CAI to 25. The additional DXB-CAI flight, EK 921, will depart from DXB at 12:00 and will arrive at CAI at 14:15; the return flight, EK 922, will leave CAI at 16:15 and will arrive at DXB at 21:35.

The move demonstrates a continuation of Emirates’ efforts to enhance its connectivity to cities in Asia, the Americas and Australia, including Beijing (PEK), Bangkok (BKK), Hong Kong (HKG), Sydney (SYD), Shanghai (PVG), New Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), New York (JFK) and Washington D.C. (DCA).

The carrier most recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ho Chi Minh City government’s trade agency, launched a new route to  Bogotá (BOG) and adjusted its strategy for flights between DXB and Kabul International Airport (KBL), as reported by our sister site, Air Cargo World.

Emirates SkyCargo also reported a 4 percent increase in its 2018 traffic to 2.6 million tonnes of cargo, which may have been supported by its 2018 network expansions to Maastricht (MST), Santiago (SCL), Stansted (STN) and Edinburgh (EDI) airports.

Of this tonnage, the carrier reported that it transported more than 35,750 tonnes to and from CAI in 2018 – 19,750 tonnes were exports and 16,000 tonnes were imports. Close to 90 percent of the commodities exported from CAI were fruits and vegetables, which are supported by Emirates’ cool-chain facilities at CAI and across its network.

Ultimately, the four new routes will contribute to the carrier’s efforts to grow its cargo volumes into 2019, while, for CAI, the new flights will aid in boosting the airport’s cargo volumes against regional competitors in Dubai (DXB, DWC) and Istanbul (ISL, IST).