Emirates Post courier subsidiary, Empost, has opened an air cargo hub at Al Ain airport in theUnited Arab Emirates in the group’s latest move to develop into an international express, cargo and
logistics player.Empost’s maiden, 44-tonne A300 freighter flight touched down at the airport, in Abu Dhabiemirate, earlier this week and will fly between Dhaka in Bangladesh and Al Ain, and onward viaIstanbul to its European hub in Amsterdam twice-a-week.
The company bought two freighters earlier this year and hopes to have a fleet of 50 aircraftby 2012, with major cities in India, the Middle East and Europe connected by the end of next year.
Empost is also setting up an acquisition-led trucking network for ground shipments in Europeand Asia, and is considering a EUR 619 million float to fund the expansion.
“Empost is the first scheduled freighter operator to choose Al Ain International Airport asits regional hub,” said Abdulla Al Daboos, chairman of Empost and director-general of EmiratesPost.
“The airport, fully equipped to handle large volumes of cargo, is strategically located, withAbu Dhabi and Dubai reachable in an hour’s time,” he pointed out.
