Aircraft are
ideal for
cargo from Jo'burg
WARTORN COUNTRIES in central and west Africa are providing a new source of opportunity for charter freighters, says Fast International managing director Gary Murphy.
"They fly in with full loads of aid cargo from Europe and Central America to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Angola. But once unloaded the aircraft are left to fly home empty.
"Now we are getting them to do the leg down here and load up with northbound consignments. And we have plenty of them available," he says.
The number of flights has escalated with peace now being brokered in Angola, says Murphy. The Congo and Rwanda relief operations have been ongoing for a while and DC10 freighters have given both the capacity and loading capabilities needed for much of the cargo flying out of Johannesburg.
"We had one instance where a number of nine-ton pieces of tower equipment for cellular requirements were flown out to Lagos, Nigeria. This type of aircraft was ideal for the purpose."
Increasing volumes have also been flying into Tanzania, while Fast International chartered the flights which carried the ground handling and stadium equipment for the All Africa soccer tournament in Mali.
