Virgin Atlantic Cargo will start operating cargo-only flights twice a week between London Heathrow and Milan’s Malpensa Airport on 12 September, a press release confirmed. 

The carrier will offer up to 50 tonnes of cargo capacity each way between London and Milan using its Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft. 

The Australian cargo carrier said connections over London will allow next-day deliveries for products from New York to Milan, considered as one of the world’s fashion capitals.  

Aside from apparel and footwear, Virgin Atlantic Cargo expects to carry Italy’s main exports like food, wine, and luxury car parts, as well as pharmaceuticals, electronics products and textiles. 

Cargo capacity on the new Virgin Atlantic service will be marketed by ADP, the airline’s general sales agency in Italy, whilst Bcube Air Cargo will be in charge of cargo handling for export and import shipments. 

“Since our first cargo-only flight on 22nd March, we’ve operated over 1,800 of these services, helping our customers deliver nearly 50 million kilos of cargo and, in the process, provided a valuable source of revenue for Virgin Atlantic as we continue our recovery programme. We have chosen Milan as our latest cargo-only route because the profile of business fits so well with our UK and US network, and we’re very much looking forward to being able to grow our working relationships with customers in Italy,” commented Dominic Kennedy, Managing Director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo. 

Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s network includes Atlanta, Barbados, Brussels, Chicago, Delhi, Dublin, Johannesburg, Lagos, Miami, Mumbai, New York JFK, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tel Aviv. 

“Starting twice-weekly frequencies to Malpensa shows Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s support of the Italian market. Malpensa Airport is a prime hub for export and import trade and as Italy continues to rise from the pandemic, it is especially welcome news for customers that they can now access direct capacity to and from the UK with Virgin Atlantic as well as fast connections to major US cities. Both markets provide Italy’s business community with very important trade opportunities,” said Carlo Gonzata, ADP’s managing director in Italy.