Air, Freight News

Emirates SkyCentral Inaugurated

[ November 11, 2015   //   Gary G Burrows ]

• Emirates SkyCargo’s has officially inaugurated its state-of-the-art cargo terminal at the Logistics District in Dubai South. Doing the honors was His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group.
  Named Emirates SkyCentral, the cargo facility is the home of Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet of 15 freighter aircraft.
  The space on which Emirates SkyCentral occupies at Dubai South is part of a much bigger area, which the carrier plans to develop over time to increase its cargo handling capacity to achieve a vision of 12 million tonnes annually by 2050.
  Emirates SkyCargo currently handles 2.3 million tonnes annually.
  “This facility features the best and latest of what the air cargo industry has to offer, and enables us to give our customers a world class, efficient and seamless service no matter what their requirements,” said Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo. “It also further establishes Dubai as a leading global air cargo hub, which has the advantage of a strategic location in the centre of trade between East and West.”
  Mohsen Ahmed, Vice President of Logistics at Dubai South, added: “With the launch of the Emirates SkyCargo facility, Dubai South begins an exciting new chapter in its journey towards establishing Dubai’s excellence as a logistics hub. Dubai South offers the ideal connection point for sea and air cargo, which calls for rapid movement to the markets of the Middle East, Asia and Africa.”
  Emirates SkyCentral is located 77 kilometres from Dubai International Airport (DXB) – a convenient location with factories and forwarders in the surrounding areas, and in close proximity to a dedicated corridor to the Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone.
  With Emirates SkyCargo’s dual operation of belly hold cargo being managed at its Cargo Mega Terminal at Dubai International and freighter cargo at DWC, cargo is moved 24/7 by truck between the two airports via a bonded virtual corridor. Since Emirates SkyCentral first became operational in May 2014, the movement of cargo between the two airports has become a seamless process and is now firmly integrated into its operations, with a transit time of just five hours between the arrival of goods to their departure from freighter to belly hold and vice versa.
  Emirates SkyCargo has 47 trucks that ply the virtual corridor between the two airports, with each truck being equipped with satellite tracking to ensure the safety and security of cargo and staff.
  Unique aspects of the terminal include a state-of-the art centralized screening and integrated police facility, cool chain areas that occupy 15,000 square metres and offers dedicated storage areas for goods requiring varying temperature ranges, and fully automated material handling and Quick Dolly Transfer Systems that enables quick transfer of 6 Unit Load Devices (ULDs) simultaneously.
  Emirates SkyCentral is a dedicated freighter facility, and with 12 aircraft stands directly in front of the terminal, one of its key features is the close proximity of aircraft to the receiving docks, which enables quick movement of goods. The freighters that operate from Emirates SkyCentral fly to more than 50 destinations around the world.

Tags: Emirates SkyCargo