As of 27 October, the Latin American airline LATAM Cargo will triple the number of flights to Brussels Airport, from four to twelve per week. Brussels Airport will thus become LATAM Cargo’s main European transport hub. The flights will be operated by a Boeing 767F. The aircraft will mainly ship flowers from Ecuador to Europe, returning to Latin America with pharmaceuticals.
Since March 2023, LATAM Cargo, the largest cargo airline group in Latin America, has been operating at Brussels Airport again with four flights a week. That frequency will be scaled up to 12 flights a week as of late October. Brussels Airport will thus become the main European hub for the airline.
The inbound flights will mainly ship perishable goods, such as flowers, from Ecuador to Europe. The aircraft then return towards Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile carrying pharmaceuticals, as well as other time critical cargo and automotive parts.
LATAM’s choice for Brussels Airport confirms Brussels Airport position and expertise as a preferred pharma hub and indispensable link between local pharmaceutical research and production facilities, and hospitals and patients worldwide. For many years, the airport has been specialising in the transport of time- and temperature critical goods with the largest area of temperature-controlled warehouses in Europe and by using refrigerated containers for transport on the tarmac that ensure the cold chain of products is not interrupted.
LATAM Cargo will operate the flights using the fuel-efficient Boeing 767F aircraft, with a cargo capacity of some 60 tonnes. The airline also plans to maximise the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This objective is in line with the vision of Brussels Airport, which strongly encourages the use of SAF, this year also with an incentive from the federal government for the additional cost for airlines.