Air Belgium is set to enter the all-cargo market with four aircraft and holds the ambition of expanding to six units by the end of the year.
The first two aircraft should be operational as of March 2021. The first aircraft will be based at Liege Airport.
Air Belgium chief executive Niky Terzakis says: “In such an uncertain period, this is good news for the airline. We are delighted to be able to begin this diversification into the commercial and cargo sector, which my team and I know well. This will complement our existing passenger business which has been severely impacted by the current travel restrictions.
“This demonstrates once again the resilience and flexibility of our airline’s development potential. As well as the ever-growing attractiveness of Liege Airport.”
The airline declines to comment on which aircraft it would operate.
The decision to start all-cargo operations at Liege Airport should not come as too much of a surprise. The Belgian airport has been expanding its cargo operations rapidly over recent years and also Terzakis has experience of freighters at the Belgian hub: until 2014 he was managing director/chief executive of express carrier TNT Airways based at the facility.
