Etihad Crystal Cargo has said it will now operate its A300-600 freighter aircraft between Abu Dhabi and Nairobi twice a week following a new interline deal with Astral Aviation, giving the Abu Dhabi-based carrier access to seven destinations across Africa, including: Entebbe, Zanzibar, Dar Es Salaam, Mwanza, Juba, Kigali and Bujumbura. “This interline agreement is a very important addition to our airline’s cargo division and will help to continue the rapid growth of our shipments across Africa and build on the strong relationships we already have there,” said Des Vertannes, Etihad’s executive vice president cargo. “Interline traffic accounts for 60 per cent of in-bound shipments into Astral’s network, and the recent bilateral interline agreement with Etihad Crystal Cargo marks an important synergy for both airlines whose GSA’s and customers will have access to a wider network,” said Sanjeev S Gadhia, CEO of Astral. With its fleet of two Airbus A300-600 aircraft and an MD11, Etihad Crystal Cargo says it has 13 cargo freighter destinations, including Frankfurt Haan, Mumbai, Lagos, Colombo and Milan.