In the first of three service developments this year in the United Arab Emirates, global forwarder and logistics services provider Geodis Wilson has opened a new airfreight office in Dubai to support increasing demand for this service mode as well as its advancing sea-air product.

Based in Dubai’s Cargo Village, the new facility will handle freight from up to ten inbound flights daily – mainly from Europe and the Far East. It will also handle sea-air cargo originating as ocean freight from the Geodis Wilson network in the Far East, which is transferred from the nearby Jebel Ali port to air cargo on Dubai flights bound for European destinations.

The new office will also be involved in customs clearance, general forwarding, supply chain management, warehousing and customs clearance activities.

Early indications suggest that Geodis Wilson’s year-on-year activity in Dubai is currently growing at more than 10 per cent across all modes, the group said. “There is particular strength in the sea-air business, which allows shippers to save on the cost of a total airfreight movement from the Far East to Europe, while offering substantial transit time savings over an end-to-end ocean freight movement. Sea-air demand is particularly strong from the textile and hi-tech sectors.”

The second significant milestone for Geodis Wilson in the UAE will be the opening of an Abu Dhabi office during the second quarter. Within this region, the company also has offices in Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Later this year, a third key event will be the opening of a new regional headquarters in Jebel Ali.