Saudi flight to land today

Arjun RaghunathFirst Published : 20 May 2010 12:06:00 AM IST
After Emirates Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines is introducing a weekly freighter aircraft service to Thiruvananthapuram from Thursday onwards. It is for the first time that Saudi Airlines is operating an exclusive freighter service to the city. The Dubai-based Emirates Airlines had introduced weekly cargo services in the Dubai - Thiruvananthapuram - Hong Kong sector from April 27. Emirates is operating a Boeing 777 wide-bodied aircraft.
According to sources, Saudi Airlines would be operating a Boeing 747 jumbo aircraft in the Dammam - Thiruvananthapuram - Hong Kong sector. The scheduled arrival time of the aircraft at Thiruvananthapuram from Dammam is 4.50 p.m. From here, the aircraft would go to Hong Kong as a ferry aircraft. The scheduled departure time is 6.50 p.m. In the initial service, as the Thiruvananthapuram - Hong Kong segment is being operated as a ferry service, no cargo would be uploaded from here.
The introduction of jumbo freighter services would give a fillip to the imports and exports from the State capital, as well as the neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu. Emirates had initially commenced the services as a non-scheduled cargo service on April 27. But the service is being operated regularly in all weeks since then.
Sources in the export sector said that the foreign airlines seem to be eyeing the export of perishables to European countries by operating services to Hong Kong from here. During the last three weeks, Emirates had taken about 20 to 30 tonnes of perishable items, especially fish, from the city airport. At present, around 25 tonnes of perishables goods are being exported from here to Gulf countries every day. Unaccompanied baggage would be the major cargo being brought from Dammam by the freighter service, said sources. On an average, around 45 tonnes of cargo, especially unaccompanied baggage, is brought to Thiruvananthapuram from Gulf countries daily.
The operation of more freighter aircraft from Thiruvananthapuram Airport is also a reflection of the overall development of the State’s trade and commerce. Till recently, the airport was lacking the necessary infrastructure to handle jumbo freighter aircraft. Air-India, which is the ground-handling agency at the airport, had recently installed the main-deck loader device here for loading and unloading cargo from the upper deck of aircraft.
arjun_raghunath@expressbuzz.com