Qatar Airways Cargo’s first 777F charter flight arrives in Columbus

While fashion week was under way in New York, Qatar Airways Cargo was making a different kind of fashion statement with a shipment of more than 100 tonnes of clothing on a charter flight from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK) in Columbus, U.S..

The 777 freighter shipment to LCK was Qatar Airways Cargo’s first charter flight to the cargo-only airport, and was chartered via its customer Expo Freight (EFL). The garments shipped on the flight were delivered to Ohio-based fashion retailer L Brands, formerly known as Limited Brands. About 40 percent of Sri Lanka’s total exports are for the clothing industry and are destined for the U.S. and Europe.

Qatar Airways Cargo operates two A330 freighter flights per week and five passenger flights per day out of Colombo, totaling more than 460 tonnes of maindeck and belly cargo capacity from Sri Lanka each week.

In addition to clothing exports, Qatar Airways also added Colombo to its Pharma Network back in May, where the carrier expects Sri Lanka’s Export Processing Zone that opened in 2016 will turn Sri Lanka into a net exporter of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.

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