Lufthansa launches Dhaka-Frankfurt cargo flight

Lufthansa Cargo, the cargo airline subsidiary of Lufthansa, national flag carrier of Germany, starts the first ever direct cargo service to any European country with the launch of Dhaka-Frankfurt cargo flight today.
Initially, the carrier will operate a two-way flight a week, on Wednesday, which will facilitate the local apparel exports mainly, hopes the regional representatives of the German-based carrier.
“We are going to launch the first ever direct cargo service to Europe from Bangladesh. We hope this helps the Bangladeshi exporters reach the European market within a night,” said Matthias Brazel, general manager for Middle East, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka of Lufthansa Cargo.
“We have seen that export from Bangladesh is growing fast after China and India, and the market is growing further. So we thought, if we can launch the cargo service from Dhaka, it will be a win-win situation for local exporters and for us as well.”
He was speaking at a press conference organised by the Lufthansa at the Best Western La Vinci in Dhaka yesterday.
He said Lufthansa will come from Frankfurt via Mumbai to Dhaka and will depart directly from Dhaka to reach Frankfurt.
Brazel, however, declined to disclose about the freight fare for per kilogramme of products. “It will depend on products, volumes and business type as well.”
So far, Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have been exporting products through Middle Eastern carriers that take three to four days, which is a major drawback for the exporters, said industry insiders.
Bangladesh mainly exports 1.5 lakh tonnes of readymade garments, pharmaceutical, leather and agro items to European and North American countries.
Syed Sadaquat Hossain, country manager of Lufthansa in Bangladesh, urged the government to increase the cargo volumes and capacities.
“The space and other technical facilities at the Shahjalal International Airport are inadequate to facilitate local exporters. Local exporters' capacity has increased manifold in the last decade,” Hossain added.
“Often the cargo village at the airport fails to shelter valuable export items, protecting them from heat and rain only. In addition, there is acute shortage of scanner machine as well,” he said.
Carsten Hernig, regional director of Lufthansa for South Asia and Middle East, was also present at the conference.