Special Uplift of 288 tonnes of perishables to Gulf for the festival

Thiruvananthapuram, 4 October 2016 (GPN) : For many Keralites celebrating Onam in the Gulf region this year, Emirates SkyCargo brought in a special flavor from home. Earlier in September, the cargo carrier deployed three dedicated freighter flights, two from Thiruvananthapuram and one from Kochi, transporting more than 288 tonnes of perishables to the Middle East especially for the Onam celebrations in the region.

The perishables uplifted exclusively by Emirates SkyCargo included all kinds of vegetables, different varieties of fruits including bananas and banana leaves. These fruits and vegetables are important ingredients for the Onam Sadhya – a vegetarian banquet served on fresh banana leaves during the festival. While the majority of the shipment was headed to Dubai, the perishables also reached other destinations in the Gulf region including Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait, Dammam, Muscat and Jeddah.

Emirates SkyCargo has witnessed a steady growth in the export of cargo from Kerala over the years. In FY 2015-16, the carrier helped export over 29,000 tonnes of cargo, a growth of 8.7% from FY 2014-15.

The transport of vegetables and fruits from Kerala for Onam celebrations in the Middle East is a significant achievement for Emirates SkyCargo as special arrangements had to be made to operate freighter aircrafts from Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi- airports which normally are not equipped to handle freighter aircrafts.