Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, has named Abdulla Alkhallafi as its new cargo manager for India. Alkhallafi will be based out of Delhi, and will be overseeing all commercial and operational aspects of Emirates SkyCargo in one of the air cargo carrier’s most important markets globally. He will be taking over from Keki Patel, who will be retiring after his tenure of more than 15 years as cargo manager for India with Emirates.
Alkhallafi joined Emirates in 2014 as part of Emirates SkyCargo’s Commercial Management programme. Following his initial training in Dubai, he was posted to Singapore where he had the opportunity to gain experience of Emirates’ operations in an overseas market. In June 2017, he was cargo manager for North India for Emirates.
Nabil Sultan, divisional senior vice-president, Emirates, said: “We are delighted to appoint Abdulla Alkhallafi as the cargo manager for our India operations. As a graduate of Emirates SkyCargo’s Commercial Management programme, Abdulla has shown immense potential in his previous roles, and we have no doubt that his dynamism and his understanding of the air cargo industry will help drive growth for Emirates SkyCargo in India. We would like to thank Keki Patel for his extensive contribution to the business over close to two decades.”
Emirates SkyCargo and India
With over 170 weekly flights to nine destinations, Emirates SkyCargo facilities trade between India and the rest of the world. In addition to transporting cargo on passenger flights, the carrier also operates scheduled freighter flights to Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
Last year. Emirates SkyCargo transported more than 250,000 tonnes of exports and imports to and from the country. India is one of the largest origin markets for pharmaceuticals for Emirates SkyCargo and both Mumbai and Bengaluru are part of the air cargo carrier’s pharma corridors programme, which encompasses 25 of the carrier’s most important stations for pharma around the world.
India also exports fresh food and perishables on Emirates’ flights to Dubai and beyond. More than 5,000 tonnes of fruits, vegetables and other produce from India are flown by Emirates SkyCargo to markets in the Middle East and Europe. During summer every year, the carrier flies Indian mangoes that are sought after in many markets around the world.
