OSLO: The growing demand around the world for Norwegian salmon has recently brought two major international air carriers to Oslo.
Emirates SkyCargo, the world’s largest international cargo airline, is expanding its presence in Scandinavia with the launch of a new weekly freighter service from Oslo to Dubai.
And AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has launched a twice weekly Boeing 747 freighter operation from Oslo in support of Norway’s thriving seafood export market and the country’s oil and gas industry.
Worldwide demand for Norwegian seafood, and especially salmon, continues to make a significant and growing contribution to the country’s economy.
Norway now exports 220,000 tonnes of seafood a year, 600 tonnes a day, using air cargo services to Asia and North America.
The service operated by an Emirates Skycargo Boeing 777 freighter aircraft has the capacity to carry just over 100 tonnes of cargo, much of which will be farmed salmon. This includes more than 15,000 square metres of temperature controlled storage space.
Emirates SkyCargo says it has state of the art facilities at its Emirates SkyCentral freighter hub at Dubai World Central for the transportation of temperature sensitive seafood shipments.
Meanwhile, Georges Biwer, a vice president at AirBridgeCargo, said: ‘Our strategy is to always stay close to our customers and to listen to their requirements to ensure we are operating where they want us to be.
Martin Langaas, director of Cargo Traffic Development at Oslo Airport, said: ‘AirBridgeCargo’s decision to launch twice weekly all-cargo flights is a welcome and important boost to Norway’s exporters and our freight forwarding community.
‘The Norwegian airfreight market is growing by over 10 per cent annually, making it the largest air cargo market in the Nordics.
‘The Norwegian market for seafood exports alone is expected to grow by 500 per cent within the next 20 to 30 years.
‘To reach this predicted growth, it’s essential to attract high quality carriers like AirBridgeCargo to Oslo to connect Norway with its most important markets in Asia and North America.’
