Liège Airport hosts ocean carrier's air cargo launch

Liège Airport yesterday hosted the first flight of CMA CGM Air Cargo, the new specialist air freight division of global shipping and logistics group, CMA CGM, which saw the operation of an A330-200F bound for Chicago.

A second freighter of the same type is scheduled to fly from the Belgian air cargo hub later this week, also serving the US market.

Last month, CMA CGM announced that the A330-200Fs will be based at Liege and that ECS Group, a leading cargo sales and services agent (GSSA), will be in charge of marketing CMA CGM Air Cargo’s services. The group also noted that its subsidiary, CEVA Logistics, will take capacity on its aircraft via a blocked space agreement.

CMA CGM confirmed that CMA CGM Air Cargo will rely on Air Belgium to operate the aircraft in its fleet, with Liege Airport as “the strategic base for its operations,” the airport being “one of Europe’s busiest freight hubs, strategically located in the heart of a large population centre and benefiting from a number of intermodal transportation options: air, shipping, road and rail.”

Commenting at the time, Xavier Eiglier, director of CMA CGM Air Cargo, said: “The launch of CMA CGM Air Cargo represents a significant event in developing a comprehensive range of logistics services for the CMA CGM group’s clients. These initial destinations in the United States demonstrate our desire to offer our clients international coverage, serving the biggest freight airports in the heart of major economic areas.”

Remarking on the launch of  CMA CGM Air Cargo's flights at Liège, the airport's CEO, Frédéric Jacquet, said: “We are really proud to be hosting a world-renowned group such as CMA CGM as it develops its cargo operations. A French family group that draws on the expertise of a Belgian company such as Air Belgium, works with Sabena Aerospace for its maintenance, and bases its aircraft at Liege Airport: what we have here is three companies coming together with the same overall ambition to grow and develop.”

He added: “The selection of Liege Airport shows once again not only that it has a prominent place in the world of cargo, but also and above all that it is playing an important role in a multimodal vision of logistics. We are delighted to welcome CMA CGM to Liège and to be partners in their projects.”