OREANDA-NEWS. Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, is set to increase its cargo capacity to Iran, when Emirates begins its five non-stop flights to Mashhad from1 September 2015.

Mashhad will become Emirates’ second Iranian destination after the capital city Tehran, which Emirates has been serving since March 1990. Last year, Emirates carried more than half a million passengers and transported over 17,500 tons of cargo to and from Iran.

“Iran is an important market for Emirates SkyCargo, and with our Dubai hub strategically located between East and West, we are able to offer Iranian manufacturers access to our global network coupled with a range of innovative products and services, such as our cool chain offering for time and temperature sensitive commodities,” said Khalid Mohd Al Hinai, Vice President Cargo Commercial for the Middle East, GCC and Iran. “We anticipate that trade between the UAE and Iran to further flourish as a result of the launch of this new direct five times weekly service.”

With the new service to Mashhad, Emirates SkyCargo will provide more than 150 tonnes of belly-hold capacity between Iran and the UAE each week; further supporting Iran exports of fruits, vegetables, carpets, saffron, nuts, and personal effects, and its imports of meat, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, machinery and automobiles parts.

The top markets to which Emirates SkyCargo carries Iranian’s exports include Dubai, Kuwait, Riyadh, Bahrain, Osaka, Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney, and Los Angeles, while main import markets include the UAE, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Mumbai, Frankfurt and Basel.

Operated by an Airbus A330-200, EK967 will depart Dubai every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 0410hrs arriving at Mashhad International Airport at 0700hrs*. The return flight, EK968 will depart Mashhad International Airport at 0845hrs* arriving in Dubai at 1045hrs.

In addition to belly-hold capacity in its all wide-body fleet of 221 passenger aircraft, Emirates SkyCargo has a fleet of 14 freighters, 12 Boeing 777Fs and two Boeing 747-400ERFs. Its dedicated freighter fleet serves more than 50 destinations around the world from its freighter hub at Dubai World Central’s Al Maktoum International Airport.

*Flight times are as per summer scheduling. Due to the end of Daylight Savings Time in Iran, the arrival and departure times in Mashhad will be one hour earlier from 22 September.