MoU signed to expand cargo ops with B-777 freighters

China Eastern Airlines has extended its cargo partnership with Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) with a new contract to handle Boeing 777 cargo-only flights in Liege.

“The new three-year agreement between the companies will see WFS handling a forecasted 32,000 tonnes of cargo per annum carried onboard up to nine B777 flights a week into the Belgian airport from Yantai Penglai International Airport in China’s Shandong Province,” says a release from WFS.

WFS is providing ramp handling for the airline’s 777 services along with warehouse operations, the release added. The contract in Liege increases WFS’ role as one of China Eastern’s preferred cargo handling partners. WFS is also supporting the airline’s cargo operations and growth at other important airport gateways including Paris CDG, Frankfurt, Stockholm and New York JFK.

“Having handled charter flights for China Eastern in Liege last summer, we are delighted to have won this opportunity to support the airline’s scheduled cargo-only services to and from Yantai,” says Nathan De Valck, Managing Director, WFS Belgium. “Liege is a very important and growing cargo hub for WFS in Europe. So, it is especially pleasing to welcome another long-term WFS partner as a customer at the airport. We see this as a sign of China Eastern’s trust in WFS and our high reputation for handling freighters and cargo-only services. This new route for the airline also shows the resilience of the LGG freighter market and the role WFS is playing in the development of it.”