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Over the past couple of weeks Melbourne Airport has been focused on attracting additional freighter services to support the movement of goods in and out of Victoria.

Please see below comments from the airport’s CEO Lyell Strambi regarding cargo, accompanied by images of Qatar’s freighter aircraft below.

Qatar Airways Cargo has introduced dedicated freighter flights for the first time in Australia, using a B-777F to land into Melbourne twice a week. The first Qatar freighter service landed in Melbourne on Friday night and it landed for a second time this morning.  

The air freight service is one of many cargo services Melbourne Airport has secured, following the loss of freight space due to COVID-19.

Melbourne Airport CEO Lyell Strambi welcomed the Qatar’s cargo flights and said there is an increase in demand for freight amid these challenging times.

“More people are purchasing goods online while in self-isolation and the need to move critical goods such as medical supplies and produce is absolutely vital,” said Mr Strambi.

“Now more than ever we need to attract freighters into Melbourne so we can support imports and exports for the state. We have obviously lost a lot of space in the belly hold of commercial passenger flights, and we’re focused on bridging that gap to ensure the movement of goods continues at the right pace.

“In the past couple of weeks we’ve added 31 more freight flights a week and welcomed 15 new cargo carriers, which is just extraordinary growth in such a small amount of time.

“Melbourne Airport’s ability to operate 24/7 curfew free is crucial to exporters and importers in Victoria and overseas and we will continue to work with our airline customers to support their freight activity.”