Hong Kong Air Cargo in early May was granted approval from the Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) to operate scheduled cargo flights to nine new routes.

Considering the strong cargo demand in the upcoming years, the airline submitted applications in December to expand its network to the Indian subcontinent, Oceania and Europe.

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It plans to add Chennai, Tokyo, Manila, Jakarta, Delhi, Sydney, Melbourne, Liege and Milan as scheduled service destinations. The Hong Kong-based carrier previously operated chartered services to most of these cities, which the airline says served as a solid foundation for the new services.

Following the ATLA licences, the carrier will apply for the other necessary approvals for the new services. The new routes will be gradually introduced using its existing fleet of five A330-200 freighters for which it has hired new pilot recruits.