Abu Dhabi: Maximus Air Cargo said it would lease two additional freighter aircraft to fuel demand for the oversized cargo market.
Fathi Hilal Buhazza, president and chief executive, said demand has grown at 25 per cent in 2007, putting its fleet of primarily Russian freighters at full capacity.
Maximus flies Antonov and Ilyushin freighters, which are known as the only civilian aircraft equipped for ramploading capabilities, ideal for oversized cargo such as helicopters and military equipment.
The Russian freighters are also able to land on less than ideal airport conditions including unpaved runways.
On Monday Buhazza said Maximus will add an Airbus A330 and an Airbus A300 in the first quarter of next year on a lease basis to add to its current fleet of eight aircraft.
The cargo operator has flown out of Abu Dhabi since 2004 out of a foreign air operator's certificate (AOC) and recently was awarded a local certificate from the federal General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Maximus flies cargo throughout the region including remote outposts in Africa, Pakistan and Iraq.
