links begin Dubai's only scheduled full freighter air service to the southern Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) started operations in the second half of June when Panalpina Gulf LLC began touching down in Bishek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan on a weekly Dubai to Macau operation.
The flights, with feeder services to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are being operated by Panalpina's fully owned sister company ASB-Air with a 747-200 freighter providing main-deck capacities to both destinations. They are being handled through Dnata Cargo's Freezone Logistics Centre (FLC), where Panalpina consolidates shipments in close co-operation with Dnata Cargo.
Swiss-based Panalpina is a leading provider of intercontinental airfreight and seafreight forwarding and transportation, specialising in global integrated logistics.
"The inauguration of this service to the fast-growing consumer goods markets in the CIS gives Panalpina a unique opportunity to serve Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Almaty (Kazakhstan) as well as the developing oil and gas regions in West Kazakhstan through our feeder flights to Aktau and Uralsk, using Miras' gateway in Bishek.
Panalpina Gulf is the GSA for Miras, a fully registered Kazakh airline. Timmerman said further expansion was planned into neighbouring states such as Tajikistan to the south and Afghanistan, still further south, in order to meet the growing demands of that area.
He said ASB-Air's choice of a Boeing freighter was determined by several factors including restrictions on the use of the Ilyushin 76, the Russian workhorse, in Europe; the increasing demand of customers in oil and gas development and construction in West Kazakhstan, and capacity shortage to the CIS.
"Panalpina/ASB-Air, as one of the world's largest, multinational logistics organisations, selected Dubai, and in particular the airport's north side for the inaugural operation because of the close co-operation that has developed with Dnata Cargo during the past two years," Timmerman said.
Panalpina's inbound airfreight volumes have increased by over 300 per cent since the use of Dnata's FLC facilities some two years ago.
"Dnata Cargo's excellent handling and close attention to detail has been instrumental in ensuring our Dubai-based clients receive a fast and efficient service. Another major plus factor is that our aircraft achieve a minimum turnaround time, making sure tight deadlines are met and costs are minimised," Timmerman said.
The decision to use Dubai airport's north side also fully complements Panalpina's move in September this year to its new operations terminal located in Dnata's newly extended FLC. Its close proximity to the airline unloading area is a further advantage.
