Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has operated more than 1,000 cargo-only flights, carried out by its airfreight division, Swiss WorldCargo. Over 23,000 tonnes of goods have been transported by the airlines since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis in March.
A number of these cargo-only flights have been charter flights in which goods were mainly transported in the cargo hold. SWISS also used the Economy Class cabin area of its three converted Boeing 777-300 to transport cargo.
During the months of April and May, the major commodities transported were medicines and medical supplies supporting the Swiss population and economy. Since then the focus has been on the transportation of commercial cargo.
Since July, SWISS had also transported commercial cargo items within its cabins, following the approval received from the Swiss authorities. Previously this space was limited to protective medical gear and related humanitarian goods.
In addition to its charter flights, SWISS continued to transport cargo in the belly of its regular passenger flights which has traditionally been the main business focus for its airfreight division.
Currently, SWISS operates regularly scheduled cargo-only flights between Zurich and Beijing, Buenos Aires, Delhi, Dubai, Johannesburg, Mumbai, and Shanghai.
According to the airline, cargo-only flight operations between Zürich and Santiago de Chile (via Sao Paulo) are set to begin shortly.
Within Europe, Swiss WorldCargo continues to offer service through its regularly scheduled flights and trucking network.
