Egyptair Cargo pioneers shorter Uganda-North America cargo route

July 23, 2024 in Business, Companies, Travel & Tourism by Editor

After more than three decades of operating passenger services to Uganda, Egypt’s flag carrier Egyptair, is looking to create a faster route for Ugandan cargo into Europe and North America.

The carrier last February,  appointed cargo consolidator Jet Fresh Cargo Limited, as Egyptair Cargo’s representative in Uganda, a first step to creating the infrastructure for gathering and putting freight on its regular 5 times a week passenger service to Cairo.

According to Wail Dagash, the chief executive officer of Jet Fresh Cargo Limited, the market response has been positive and consignments of chilled fish have already been uplifted from Entebbe to New York (JFK), while sun-dried fish and Matooke have been delivered to the Ugandan community in Toronto (YYZ).

“All cargoe exported from Uganda will mostly be delivered within a 24hr window at final destination, leveraging the state-of-the-art cold room facilities at Cairo International Airport that ensure perishable cargoes arrive in perfect condition,” Dagash told 256BN.

“We are availing much needed additional cargo capacity for Ugandan Exporters and more specifically SMEs as the type of aircrafts we are operating to Entebbe can accommodate up to 2 tons per flight,” Dagash added.

Egyptair operates a 737-800 aircraft to Entebbe, in a triangular service that connects via Kigali.  The carrier flies to over 540 destinations, with Entebbe currently served  5 times a week.

Responding questions about the likely constraints poser by the limited cargo capacity available on the passenger 737, Dagash explained that special cargo only freighter flights can be arranged on demand.

“Exporters wishing to uplift loads of 20-51 tons, can put in a request and we can arrange for the freighter to come to Entebbe,” he said.

Dagash said a regular dedicated freighter service operated using a 50 ton cargo aircraft  was under consideration. However, its deployment would depend on how demand builds up over the coming months.

“The Ugandan Exporter must also be aware that the situation in the Red Sea has now made it difficult to book sea freight and thus many exporters are now turning to air cargo to honor supply agreements. We are seeing shipments of tobacco, clothing, and tea for example moving by air cargo; this in turn is adding more pressure on the already limited air cargo space available” Dagash added.

“Jet Fresh Cargo is focusing on upholding customer service levels from cargo booking, documentation, tracking and reporting until final delivery in an effort to make the exporters experience using Egyptair Cargo as seamless as possible.”