Emirates Sky Cargo Boeing 747-400F lands at Dube Cargo Terminal

Dube Tradeport Showcases Seamless Connectivity
8 September 2010

On Tuesday the 7^th of September 2010, Dube TradePort welcomed the majestic Emirates Sky Cargo Boeing 747-400F as it touched down at King Shaka International Airport at 19h00 from Dubai. It was carrying 110 tonnes of off-shore drilling equipment, destined for the Durban harbour.

The 110-tonne-capacity Boeing 747-400F freighter is the all-cargo transport variant of the Boeing 747-400 family of aircrafts and one of the most advanced long-range freighters in the world. It has a main deck nose door and a mechanized cargo handling system. The nose door swings up so that pallets or containers up to 20 foot can be loaded straight in, on motor-driven rollers.                        
 

The early evening flight, facilitated by Safcor Panalpina, entrenched Dube TradePort’s position; connecting  air, sea, road and rail  transport. Safcor Panalpina, a tenant at the newly constructed Dube Trade House, joined other freight forwarding companies to be in close proximity to the runway and cargo terminal, to take advantage of this world class facility and gain access to a multi-modal platform. This marks the beginning of positioning KSIA as a significant freight hub in the region

“For Dube TradePort, this vindicates the KSIA development and establishes the cargo facility as a major role player in the air freight industry as this is the third all freight aircraft to touch down since the official opening in May, 2010”, said Ahmed Bassa, Aeronautical Executive at Dube TradePort. “This flight has been a good opportunity to showcase the operational efficiency and convenience that the new airport offers to the air freight industry as previously consignments of this magnitude was facilitated via the Johannesburg airport and trucked down to Durban adding both unnecessary time and cost.”

Tim Barron added: “It is a tremendous achievement that Durban has at last received the facility to handle equipment of this magnitude in today’s modern age”, said the General Manager who has served at Safcor Panalpina Durban for 30 years. “It has made my 41 years in the freight industry rewarding beyond words”.

The Dube TradePort Cargo Terminal hosts impressive technology and support systems to ensure that KwaZulu-Natal more than holds its own in the international air freight industry. It also boasts an intricate freight infrastructure that performs both on a domestic and international level.


The cargo terminal at Dube TradePort is the first in the world to be operated and managed by one cargo handler, leading international company WFS, thereby increasing security and control at the terminal.  Upon arrival at the airport, all cargo is x-rayed, security checked, broken down, recorded onto the latest information data systems  and is then transferred via an overhead linkage facility  into the Trade House to be received by the designated freight forwarder..

Darren Coleman, General Manager at WFS said “I used to see this on a daily basis during my years at Heathrow airport, but it is truly awe-inspiring to be a part of such development in a place as beautiful as KwaZulu-Natal”.
 

The outsized aircraft departed late last night for Dubai and onward to China