newstodate.aero

Mar 06, 2023 (newstodate): Emerging from clouds of silence, the new Danish cargo carrier Maersk Air Cargo will soon take to the air from its base at Billund Airport.
   Starting from March 20, 2023, the airline will launch flights from Billund Airport to China via Navoi in Uzbekistan, routed Billund-Navoi-Hangzhou-Navoi-Billund.
   Maersk Air Cargo will start out with six weekly rotations on the route with Boeing 767-300 converted freighters, eventually going up to as much as 36 rotations on various routes from Billund Airport as the fleet grows.
   The technical landing at Navoi will provide for aircraft line maintenance, refueling and crew change.
   Originally, Maersk Air Cargo expected to take delivery of two converted aircraft before the end of 2022, seeing the first Boeing 767 freighter entering commercial service before the start of 2023 - but this run into delays due to issues with delivery and registration, while various permits concerning oversea operations were also not fully in place.
   In the first phase, and in addition to serving Star Air's integrator customers from European hubs as hitherto, Maersk Air Cargo will allocate three converted Boeing 767 freighters to be based at Billund Airport for cargo flights between Europe and China, adding two new ex-factory Boeing 777F aircraft in late 2024, primarily dedicated to serving customers of Maersk Group companies.