Dubai: Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific will move its cargo fleet operations to Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central on Saturday.
However, all belly cargo, which is transported in passenger planes, will still be processed in and out of Dubai International airport.
“The operating team has years of experience and expertise in split operation management between Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports,” Brian Yuen, Cathay Pacific country manager for the UAE and Qatar, told Gulf News in an email.
“We do not expect any impact from managing two different airports in Dubai,” he said.
The permanent shift comes ahead of the 80-day long runway repairs at Dubai International set to begin in May, which will cut capacity at the airport, one of the world’s busiest.
Dubai is Cathay Pacific’s transit hub for its European destinations — Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Total tonnage carried by Cathay Pacific across its global network in 2013 fell by 1.5 per cent compared to the previous, however, capacity grew by 1.7 per cent, Yuen said.
“We saw soft demand for the first half of 2013 but the volumes increased in October and November, mainly driven by high-tech goods from China and other major manufacturing activities in Asia,” he said.
Cathay Pacific has no plans for new cargo destinations travelling through Dubai.
Cargo operations launched at Al Maktoum in June 2010 and passenger operations started in October 2013.
