For Emirates’ cargo customers in Malta, the new service to Larnaca in Cyprus and onward to Dubai, together with the increase in frequency to four flights each week, is providing a welcome boost, with much-needed extra capacity on the Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

Emirates SkyCargo, which is represented in Malta by general sales agents Cassar & Cooper Ltd, has expanded its weekly existing belly-hold capacity from 51 tonnes to 68 tonnes in each direction between Malta, Cyprus and Dubai, the commercial hub of the Middle East.

Since October, Emirates Airline has been serving the island with four flights each week – every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday – on A330-200s, with a freight capacity of 17 tonnes each way. Air Malta, the national airline, code-shares services on Emirates’ flights between Malta and Larnaca in Cyprus.

Emirates’ Malta and Cyprus manager Paul Fleri Soler said: “Our Malta-Larnaca-Dubai route, and the increase in frequency, gives both Maltese and Cypriot cargo customers better and more frequent access between the two countries as well as to Dubai, a major connecting hub for cities throughout the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent and Asia-Pacific.

“Our new service from Malta to Larnaca has opened another gateway in the Mediterranean. It provides faster delivery for Maltese importers of perishables and other time-sensitive cargo,” he said.

Cassar & Cooper operation director Lino Bonello said that Malta has shown a steady increase in tonnage every year since Emirates began its operations to Malta in 1998. “Malta and Cyprus are both important Mediterranean destinations for Emirates SkyCargo and the new route and added frequency will serve to increase the growing trend in exports from Malta.”

Emirates SkyCargo will help meet Maltese demand for shipments of textiles, electrical components, raw materials, car parts, fresh vegetables and fish for specialised outlets, as well as tropical fish into the country.

From Malta, it transports tuna fish, semi-conductors, printed matter, electronic equipment, heavy drilling equipment, personal effects and outsized cargo.

Emirates SkyCargo now serves 77 destinations in 54 countries in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. Emirates’ 83-strong fleet, which includes 76 wide-bodied passenger jets and seven freighters (one Airbus A310, five 747-400Fs and one 747-200Fs) is one of the youngest in the skies.