AirBridgeCargo (ABC) Airlines continues to grow at double digit rates with cargo volumes surging 13 per cent in 2017, with special cargo performing particularly well.

The airline handled more than 700,000 tonnes of cargo in 2017, which it says is due to fleet expansion, developing solutions for special cargo, and upgrading its network with new destinations and additional flights to existing ones.

Temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals saw exceptional growth with growth of 150 per cent, while off-size & heavy cargo was up 33 per cent, and e-commerce by 26 per cent.

The air cargo industry as a whole had a very strong year in 2017 and ABC witnessed improvements in all major markets across its network, with its performance being enhanced by the refinement and reinforcement of its sales structure, which has seen the development of a centralised sales structure complemented by regional expertise.

ABC general director, Sergey Lazarev says that in addition to developing special cargo, fine-tuning processes and other improvements, the airline has been upgrading the quality of service.

He explains: “We have also initiated a number of projects aimed at ameliorating service quality – including the introduction of our new Control Tower to monitor consignments of special cargoes and to proactively respond to service disruptions in any, Envirotainer QEP certification for ABC stations, cooperation with Sky Fresh for automated notifications, and other industry-related initiatives with tech-savvy solutions which helped to sharpen ABC’s performance.”

Lazarev adds: “Our commitment to continuous improvement and strong customer relationships will continue to serve as a pillar for ABC’s development in 2018 and beyond.”

ABC says it will focus on further enhancing special cargo, not only providing customers with a wide range of products but also offering digital solutions to make processes easier and more transparent.