Emirates airline’s cargo operation takes off at new airport

Largely empty desert surrounds the home of a new cargo operation for Emirates airlines, but the Middle East’s largest carrier spots something different in the sparse landscape near Dubai’s fledgling second airport.

“What you see is not sand, but the land of opportunity,” said Henrik Ambak, Emirates’ senior vice president for cargo operations worldwide.

With customs-free truck routes from Dubai’s main airport and its massive Jebel Ali shipping port, Emirates said its new SkyCentral cargo facility will attract business both at home and abroad at 145 destinations around the world.

Emirates, along with Dubai’s rulers, are betting big on the growth of Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central, which backers hope eventually will handle over 200 million passengers a year. For now, it hosts a few commercial flights a day from the likes of budg- et carriers flydubai and Wizzair, as well as Qatar Airways, while Dubai International is the world’s busiest international air passenger hub.

Emirates took journalists on a tour Tuesday of the SkyCentral cargo facility as part of the ongoing Dubai Airshow. It includes mobile and fixed refrigerated storage for both fresh food and pharmaceuticals, as well as room for 12 of Emirates’ 15 freighter aircraft to be parked close by. (AP)