Emirates SkyCargo last month introduced an once-weekly A310-300F freighter service from Dubai to Djibouti, which is Emirates’ 15th African destination. The A310-300F offers a gross payload of 39 tonnes.

To Djibouti, Emirates SkyCargo is expecting to carry manufactured and consumer goods, machinery and IT equipment from around its network, particularly from the Indian Subcontinent and the Far East.

Djibouti exports will include personal effects. The route may expand to include Dar-es-Salaam in the future as demand is evaluated.

Hiran Perera, Emirates’ vice president cargo ¨C freighters said: "This new route represents Dubai’s ongoing investment in East-African and a natural extension to support Djibouti’s logistics requirements. Djibouti is a medium-haul destination for our A310F freighter route and will compliment our services in the area very well offering sufficient size and optimum speed."