Cargoitalia, the Italian international all-cargo carrier relaunched under new ownership, has received its AOC (Air Operator’s Certificate) but has said it will now delay the planned start of scheduled services until September.

The carrier said the receipt of its AOC meant flights could now commence using Cargoitalia’s recently-delivered first MD11F. Although it had originally intended to begin services in May, the carrier said that due to the depressed air cargo market it would instead operate a series of ad hoc charters throughout July and August before commencing scheduled operations in September.

“We have decided to defer the start-up of our scheduled services until September, when demand will be stronger,” said Cargoitalia commercial director Roberto Gilardoni. “In the meantime, operating charters will give us an ideal opportunity to ensure our aircraft, systems and staff are functioning at full efficiency. This means we can hit the ground running in September, without any of the teething problems we might otherwise face.”

Cargoitalia added that it was about to take delivery of the second of its three MD11F aircraft, which would be deployed on a different route, with the third MD11F due within the next six months. The airline also has orders for eight A330-200 freighters which are due to enter service from 2012.

The new Cargoitalia is the result of amalgamating the original Cargoitalia (which suspended operations in 2008) with the recently-purchased Alitalia full cargo business. Cargoitalia’s new owners are ALIS (Aerolinee Italiane S.p.A.) with 66.7 per cent and Intesa SanPaolo with 33.3 per cent.