Emirates SkyCargo has launched daily direct services from Dubai International Airport to the South African port city of Durban, its third destination in the country and 17th in Africa. The inaugural flight was carrying 14 tonnes of cargo in the belly of an A330-200 passenger aircraft.

In the 12 months between August 2008 and July 2009, Emirates SkyCargo’s uplift of South African exports increased nearly four-fold over the previous 12 months to more than 50,000 tonnes, thanks to the addition of the third daily flight to Johannesburg. Emirates said it expects further growth with nearly 100 tonnes of additional capacity each week out of Durban.

“There is a variety of commodities moving out of Durban – car parts, pay channel decoders, electronic parking meters, aluminum, electronics, tools, perishables such as pineapples and textiles – to markets as far afield as Europe, the Middle East, the US and Australia,” according to Peter Sedgley, senior vice president Cargo Commercial Operations.