Panalpina adds Querétaro to its U.S.-Mexico network

Today, Swiss-based carrier Panalpina added Querétaro International Airport (QRO) to its United States-Mexico network, which it calls the “speedy loop,” connecting Mexico City and Guadalajara with the airline’s airfreight gateway in Huntsville, Alabama.

Querétaro, located in Mexico’s Bajio region, hosts large-scale automotive, aerospace and production operations. The carrier said the new route represents the first time a carrier has added scheduled freighter service to three international airports in and out of Mexico, and the first and only company to offer a trans-Atlantic flight from Querétaro International Airport (QRO) to London and QRO to Luxembourg.

“Panalpina has been committed to Querétaro for over five years now,” said Matthias Frey, global head of the Panalpina Charter Network. “We have been working closely with Querétaro airport operatives and government authorities, strategic airline partner Atlas Air, and Huntsville International Airport to build on the continued success of the Network.”

The carrier, like many of its industry counterparts, had a lucrative 2017, transporting 995,900 tonnes of airfreight and commenting in its most recent statement that “Mexico had a lot to do with it.” Panalpina added another 100 flights during  “peak season” at the end of 2017;  a quarter of those flights were 747 freighters flying into Mexico. In 2018, Panalpina has organized 11 ad hoc charters for Mexican operations, and 10 more are scheduled for implementation in coming weeks.

Frey adds, “This unique combination of scheduled and ad-hoc charter flights, as well as overland services, means that we can efficiently and reliably distribute imported products to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Querétaro, Puebla, Monterrey, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes and elsewhere.”

For the carrier’s specific Mexico-Europe and Mexico-U.S. frequencies, please visit the company’s website.