RJ to begin new UK cargo flight to meet export growth

By Paul Tate


AMMAN — Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ) is to add a weekly freighter service to London later this month to support Jordan’s growing exports to the UK and Continental Europe.

The new cargo service to London Stansted Airport, which currently handles around 13 per cent of all UK air freight, totalling over 230,000 tonnes a year, will supplement the current weekly freighter operation into London Heathrow.

Vice president of RJ Cargo, Geoffrey Weston, told The Jordan Times on Tuesday that the new flight is designed to cope with the increase in cargo volumes over the past year and meet the needs of Jordanian exporters seeking quicker access to the European market.

“We have experienced very strong growth in our operations in and out of London since September last year, with the cargo volume increasing by around 80 per cent,” said Weston.

The airline official said the growth is being driven by an upsurge in exports, mainly consisting of farm produce destined for the UK and other European countries, but also in textiles and garments for the United States.

“We are involved in ongoing discussions with local producers who have made it clear to us that they require more export options. We hope the new service will help meet their needs,” said Weston.

He added that the airline had recently signed an agreement with American Airlines and MAXjet to transport RJ cargo from London to the US.

Faisal Deek, chairman of the Jordan Exporters & Producers Association for Fruit and Vegetables (JEPA), an organisation set up to facilitate and promote farm exports, welcomed the announcement.

“This will greatly assist us in our efforts to boost exports and penetrate more markets. We have good working relationship with the airline, which is doing its best to address our concerns,” said Deek.

The JEPA official said local producers had been hit hard by the fuel surcharge imposed in late 2003 as a result of soaring international oil prices, but this had been largely offset by export growth.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, exports of fruit and vegetables to the EU are expected to reach 7,000 tonnes by the end of this year, compared to 4,000 tonnes in 2005.

In August this year, two Jordanian farms acquired the European Good Agricultural Practices (EuroGAP) Certificate, allowing them to export directly to European supermarkets, bypassing Europe’s central markets, where Jordanian agricultural products fetch lower prices and are subject to commission fees.

“Although overall export figures remain relatively low the percentage increase has grown considerably, particularly in winter produce like peppers, tomatoes, herbs and strawberries,” said Deek.

Weston said the growth in cargo operations at Queen Alia International Airport had led to a reassessment of its warehouse facilities, which have suffered from a lack of investment since they opened 25 years ago.

“We are currently upgrading the warehouse infrastructure and have employed 32 new porters over the past two months and 14 employees to work in RJ Cargo’s customer service department,” said Weston.

RJ Airbus A310 freighters operate on a regular basis to Beirut, Baghdad, Dubai, Tel Aviv, London Heathrow, Maastricht and New York. RJ also transports air freight in passenger aircraft to 43 other destinations.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006