Qatar Airways Cargo started its first freighter service to Phnom Penh in Cambodia on 3 April using an Airbus A330 Freighter.
It will operate on the Doha–Phnom Penh–Doha route once a week and will offer over 60 tonnes of cargo capacity each way.
Garments represent the largest portion of Cambodia’s manufacturing sector and account for 80 per cent of the country’s exports, represent the majority of uplift out of Cambodia for the carrier.
Qatar Airways Cargo currently carries more than 70 tonnes of bellyhold cargo on the daily widebody passenger flights to Phnom Penh via Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam every week.
The introduction of direct freighter services offers exporters increased capacity and flexibility to transport Cambodian commodities to Qatar Airways’ global network of more than 150 destinations via its hub in Doha.
Qatar Airways Cargo chief officer for cargo, Ulrich Ogiermann says: “This is our fifth freighter destination launched this year, in tandem with our increased fleet size. Intra-Asia air cargo has grown over the years, and we have observed substantial migration of manufacturing trade from China to Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam.
“Leveraging our extensive network of more than 70 cities in Africa, Europe and the Americas, we are in the lead to provide our customers in the Southeast Asia region adequate capacity, flexibility and world-class airfreight solutions via our state-of-the-art Doha hub.”
The introduction of direct freighter services adds 60 tonnes of weekly capacity to the Doha-Phnom Penh route.
Asia Pacific is a prime airfreight market for Qatar Airways Cargo, and it says the launch of freighter service to Phnom Penh increases the cargo carrier’s freighter network to seven destinations on the continent.
New bellyhold flights to Canberra in Australia and Medan in Indonesia have also been announced by the airline recently, in addition to the existing 29 bellyhold destinations in Asia Pacific.
Qatar Airways Cargo recently took delivery of its 12th Boeing 777 Freighter, taking the total count of freighters in operation to 21.
