Emirates SkyCargo restarted cargo flights to New Zealand in early May using its passenger aircraft, as part of the country’s International Airfreight Capacity Scheme (IAFC) to connect exporters with the international market.

The Dubai-based carrier currently offers cargo capacity for exporters of perishables and other goods on six flights each week from Auckland and one flight a week from Christchurch.

Emirates SkyCargo says it carried more than 8,000 tonnes of cargo from the country last year on over 650 flights, with food items and produce making up more than half of the total exports from New Zealand.

Some of the main food exports included meat, which formed close to half of the total, as well as seafood, fruits, berries and dairy products, including hundreds of tonnes of the much sought after Manuka honey.

“With the exception of a period of five weeks between end of March and early May, Emirates SkyCargo helped provide a steady channel for the flow of essential goods such as PPE and medical equipment into New Zealand and for the flow of food exports out of the country,” the airline noted.

It also moved close to 850 tonnes of essential pharmaceutical goods from Europe and India last year, amounting to close to one-fifth of the total cargo imported into New Zealand on Emirates’ flights.