Iberia Adds to its Cargo Network

Spanish national carrier Iberia is to add dedicated cargo links into Africa after years of studying the market. The airline will extend its existing Madrid – Gran Canaria service onto Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, on a once weekly basis. It anticipates carrying around 400 tonnes of freight, mainly fresh fish on this leg, which will be operated in partnership with subsidiary Cacesa using a leased Boeing 737F.

This will be the second new destination for Iberia Cargo this month with Brussels also due to join its network. As reported previously, Iberia Cargo will offer a twice weekly freight link between Madrid and Brussels importing mainly perishable goods, such as fruit and vegetables from Latin America.

In addition to the new routes, Iberia Cargo offers five weekly flight between Madrid and Gran Canaria with B757Fs; four weekly frequencies between Madrid and Tenerife using a B737F; five flights a week between Madrid and Frankfurt with a B757F and a weekly flight from the Spanish capital to the Milan Malpensa using a B737F. Last year the company carried a total of 264,402 tonnes of freight, nearly 20,138 tonnes of which were transported on dedicated freight aircraft, up eight per cent on the previous year.