Lufthansa Cargo is to resume a direct 80-tonne MD-11 Freighter service from Frankfurt Airport to Osaka’s Kansai International Airport from 18 January next year.
The German cargo carrier last flew the route in March 2014 and will service Kansai twice a week stopping in Osaka on a Thursday and Saturday.
The MD-11 has a capacity of 80 tonnes. Both weekly flights will stop at Novosibirsk, in Russia, for refueling. This route will be the only direct freighter flight to and from Frankfurt to Kansai.
Air cargo volume handled at Kansai has shown significant expansion with demand for auto parts and pharmaceuticals driving growth, and has recorded a more than 10 per cent increase for 10 months in a row in comparison with the same month of last year (as of August 2018).
Operator Kansai Airports says the gateway has also received many requests from cargo owners to expand load capacity for air cargo.
The airport adds: “This resumed cargo service will enable larger-scale goods to be carried and carriage time to be shortened through midnight operations as well as expand load capacity between Kansai and European regions.
“Kansai Airports will continue to improve convenience for cargo owners and related air cargo companies through expansion and improvement of its cargo flight network, and contribute for economic expansion mainly in Kansai region and flight destinations.”
