Air, Freight News

Delta now offers daily Asia cargo flights from three U.S. gateways

[ May 15, 2020   //   Gary G Burrows ]

Starting May 13, Delta increased its cargo-only flights from Incheon to both Atlanta and Los Angeles to daily operations following increased demand to transport medical supplies and other goods from Asia to the United States. Last month, the airline flew to Atlanta four times weekly and to L.A. three times a week.

Delta also added another daily flight between Shanghai and Incheon, bringing the total to three. When combined with the existing daily Incheon-Detroit service, Delta now operates 124 weekly cargo-only flights.

The Atlanta and Los Angeles flights are operated using Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, with the Detroit service utilizing an Airbus A350-900. Both aircraft can carry up to 42 tons of cargo in the hold on international routes. Once the cargo arrives in Atlanta, Detroit, or Los Angeles, it is transferred to domestic passenger flights to be shipped to destinations around the U.S.

“Keeping global supply chains moving is incredibly important during the COVID-19 pandemic so that vital medical supplies can get to health professionals,” said Shawn Cole, Vice President-Delta Cargo. “We’re proud to be supporting this effort by adding more flights between Asia and the U.S. to help to meet the increasing demand for equipment for the healthcare industry.”

The charter operations provide safe and reliable transportation of essential goods to communities around the globe using aircraft that would otherwise be parked.

China-based suppliers of medical protective equipment recently restarted production but with passenger flights suspended, they have been looking for alternative paths to the U.S. Operating cargo-only flights between Asia and the U.S. will help keep vital supply lines open.

Delta Cargo annually flies 421,000 tons of cargo around the world, including pharmaceutical supplies, fresh flowers, produce, e-commerce, global mail, and heavy machinery.