Air bridge offered to European markets

Cargolux will fly twice a week to Ho Chi Minh City

Cargolux will fly twice a week to Ho Chi Minh City. The first flight will operate every Monday evening out of Luxembourg, via Dubai and return via Bangkok. A Friday flight will arrive via Dammam and return via Hong Kong and Sharjah.
“We see a good development potential on the Vietnam-Europe route. The Vietnamese economy is growing and more and more airfreight related production is coming up. At Cargolux, we offer a wide network linking Vietnam not only to Europe but also to the Middle East, the US, Africa and South America,” Robert Van de Weg, vice president of Cargolux, said.
Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam deputy director Lai Xuan Thanh said the airline had been granted top commercial rights by the Vietnamese Government. Accordingly, Cargolux will have the right to transport goods not only from Luxembourg but also from Dubai, Dammam, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Sharjah to Vietnam and return.
From Vietnam, Cargolux will mainly fly garments, footwear, handicrafts and electronics to Europe, with additional seafood products, fruit and vegetables for Asian destinations, the airline said in a statement.
Luxembourg is considered a gateway to the European market with about 500 million consumers. During a recent visit to Vietnam, Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economic and Foreign Trade Jeannot Krecké said Cargolux’s new air route was expected to become an important bridge between Vietnamese goods and the European market.
The European market is now one of the most important for Vietnam’s exporters. Last year, the trade turnover between Vietnam and European Union reached $10.2 billion. However, most goods are transported by sea.
Thanh said air-cargo transport was still modest in Vietnam with the volume of cargo via Tan Son Nhat airport only hitting 200,000 tonnes per year. Meanwhile, the number was four million tonnes per year at Singapore’s Changi airport.
Cargolux is the second European freighter carrier to launch direct services to Vietnam after CargoItalia, which started its flights to Ho Chi Minh City last May.