NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 31 – Kenya Airways (KQ) has doubled its air cargo flights to African countries due to high demand for freight services.
The national carrier has increased freight frequencies to seven destinations, such as Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic.
KQ Cargo will deploy its B737300F freighter two times weekly to Harare, Lusaka, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam, Juba, Bangui, and Lubumbashi, which are some of the major markets feeding the KQ Air network.
“The aviation industry plays a critical role in facilitating intra Africa trade and we believe Kenya Airways is well position to accelerate the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA),” KQ Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka said.
“This is also well aligned with our purpose which is contribute to the sustainable development of Africa, and this entails connecting the continent as much as we possibly can to destinations within Africa, thereby promoting intra-African trade,” Kilavuka added.
Cargo flights will increase capacity to 60 metric tons per week.
Freights from and to these places include computers and other IT products, clothing and fashion accessories, pharmaceuticals, machinery and engineering products, and chemicals.
“We are pleased to announce the increased frequencies to seven destinations across Africa, as this will support our cargo customers in meeting their freight demands. We want to assure our markets of a reliable, timely, and convenient freighter service,” KQ Director of Cargo, Dick Murianki said.
KQ Cargo played a pivotal role in supporting KQ’s business during the pandemic period and emerged as a vital revenue stream that the airline has decided to focus on and enhance to realize its full potential.
KQ Cargo has a dedicated freighter fleet of 2 Boeing 737-300s, together with freight belly capacity on board Kenya Airways passenger fleet, and delivers air freight to more than 54 key global destinations.
