Emirates is to move its SkyCargo operations to Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International Airport from April.
Upon completion of the first phase, followed by the installation of the cargo handling system and the fitment of the interior by April 2014 and full completion by mid-September, the terminal will be equipped to handle 700,000 tonnes of cargo and can be further expanded by an additional 300,000 tonnes in the second phase.
The new airport, which is next door to the Jebel Ali free zone, currently has the capacity to handle some 600,000 tonnes of air cargo a year. When complete the airport will have five runways with airside access for logistics operations.
In its last financial year, Emirates carried 2.1 million tonnes of cargo across its network and was ranked number one among the top airlines for scheduled Freight Tonne Kilometres flown internationally.
Revenue for the year to May 2013 reached AED 10.3bn (US$2.8bn) mark, an 8 per cent increase over the previous year.
It has now signed more than 190 global and local bilateral and multi-lateral agreements with its customers to support the transition from paper air waybills (AWB) to electronic air waybills.
