After a successful 2021, Emirates SkyCargo upbeat about 2022 and beyond

Emirates SkyCargo, the airfreight division of the award-winning Dubai-based airline, has passed every test thrown at it by the global pandemic in 2021 – proving to be a significant contributor to economies around the world, including Sri Lanka. In this exclusive interview, Emirates’ Cargo Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives Kapila Santhapriya says Emirates 

SkyCargo will continue to facilitate important segments of global trade in 2022 and beyond. Following are excerpts:

Q: The concluded year has been a tough one for airlines. How has Emirates SkyCargo fared in this backdrop in its Sri Lanka operations? 

Emirates SkyCargo has been a very significant contributor to the airline’s operations, not just in Sri Lanka but globally, in the period impacted by the pandemic. Even when many countries were closed to passenger travel, SkyCargo continued to operate, transporting vaccines, essential medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and other urgent needs around the globe. In Sri Lanka, we also played a key role in supporting the exports sector. In 2021, we transported more than 16 million kilograms (16,000 tons) of cargo out of Sri Lanka. This was 12% of the total exports carried by air from Sri Lanka in the calendar year. Of this, 56% was general cargo which includes Sri Lankan exports such as fashion apparel and 36% was exports of fresh perishable commodities such as fish, fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers. We ensured these fresh items reached customers in markets such as Paris, Dubai, Frankfurt and London on time and in pristine condition. Although Emirates has not returned to its pre-pandemic flight schedules in Colombo yet, Emirates SkyCargo has offered cargo capacity on flights to support supply chains and ensure that exporters’ cash flows are uninterrupted. 

Q:  How has Emirates SkyCargo inspired confidence in its Sri Lankan clientele?

We have remained a consistent service provider even during the pandemic. In fact, there has been a 162% increase in the number of weekly cargo flights to and from Sri Lanka between December 2020 and December 2021. We went from a combination of eight passenger aircraft and freighters able to carry 225 tons of cargo to and from Colombo every week in December 2020, to 21 weekly flights able to transport 525 tons a week by end-2021. 

A significant volume of Sri Lankan exports are perishables and Emirates SkyCargo offers highly specialised air transport solutions for this segment under the ‘Emirates Fresh’ umbrella that helps maintain the freshness of the goods being transported. Emirates Fresh is backed by Emirates’ modern fleet of all wide-body Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft, robust processes, experienced staff as well as state-of-the-art cool chain facilities at its hub in Dubai. 

Q:  Globally, Emirates SkyCargo has played a pivotal role in the transportation of COVID-19 vaccines. Could you elaborate on this and how this benefitted Sri Lanka? 

Emirates SkyCargo transported more than 35,000 kilograms of COVID-19 vaccines to Sri Lanka in 2021, supporting the country’s national COVID-19 vaccination program, by flying different types of vaccines from various locations around the world. This includes Sputnik V vaccine from Russia and the Pfizer vaccines now in use for the booster vaccine program.

Emirates SkyCargo has been leading the international air cargo industry in the transportation of COVID-19 vaccines and other essential pharmaceutical, PPE and food supplies during the pandemic. Recently, SkyCargo crossed a major milestone in the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines with 600 million doses flown on its flights. Since October 2020, we have globally transported more than 2.8 million kilograms, which is 2,800 tons, of COVID-19 vaccines from 35 origins to over 80 destinations.

Emirates SkyCargo has over 20,000 sq. metres of GDP compliant storage and handling space at its hub in Dubai processing close to 200,000 kilos of pharmaceuticals every single day. This comprises vaccines, biologics, medicines for illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and a range of other medical treatments.

Additionally, at our hub in Dubai, we have one of the world’s largest fleets of Cool Dollys which help maintain cargo at a stable temperature between aircraft and terminal. Close to 50 of these Cool Dollys are dedicated for pharmaceutical cargo right now. 

Q:  Have there been new developments for Emirates SkyCargo in 2021? 

There have been many. Just to mention a few, in June 2021, Emirates SkyCargo enhanced its temperature-sensitive pharma and vaccine handling capabilities in Dubai with the extension of a fully automated cool room with 94 airline pallet positions at its pharma facility at Dubai International Airport. The extended cool room now provides an additional temperature controlled environment for the storage and handling of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals. The extension can hold an estimated 60-90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines at one time.

In September 2021, Emirates SkyCargo rolled out a new technical solution for its customers that has enhanced user experience and the efficiency of the booking process for cargo shipments. Cargo customers can now make cargo bookings directly on the ‘CargoWise’ platform for a majority of their cargo requirements after completing a short registration process. 

It is also noteworthy that in April 2021, Emirates SkyCargo operated the 500th passenger-freighter flight handled by Rickenbacker Airport in Columbus, Ohio. There is a strong link from Sri Lanka to this achievement as a total of 3.6 million kilograms (3,600 tons) of garments was carried by Emirates SkyCargo from Colombo to Columbus in 2021 alone.

 Q:  How is 2022 looking for Emirates SkyCargo right now? 

Considering the announcement Emirates SkyCargo recently made about inducting two new Boeing 777F freighters into its fleet in 2022 and our plans to convert four of our Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft into freighters between 2023 and 2024, I can safely say that expansion is what’s on the horizon for Emirates SkyCargo. These investments also reflect our confidence in future growth of our status as one of the largest airline cargo carriers in the world.