Lufthansa Cargo adds more flights to mainland China, ferrying urgent supplies to Europe

Lufthansa Cargo is expanding in China, surpassing 100 weekly flights for the first time, and adding new flights to Shenzhen. Peter Gerber, CEO of Europe’s largest cargo airline, said there had been heavy demand for its services, though this might cool by the peak of summer. “At the moment, cargo demand is very, very strong,” he said. “It started to get strong in April, when Chinese industries got back to work, and after that we have seen a constant, heavy demand, a real peak." Global air freight capacity has been squeezed as two-thirds of the world’s aircraft have been grounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. The collapse of air travel has practically put a stop to passenger flights, which typically carry half of all air cargo. Since the pandemic, cargo flights have been critical in moving protective health equipment across the globe. From sending masks and other supplies to China in February, the German carrier is now taking urgent supplies from the mainland back to Europe. “We have a high responsibility in maintaining supply chains in these unprecedented times for both global health and world trade,” Gerber said. With the addition of Shenzhen, Lufthansa Cargo will fly to five destinations in China. It serves more than 300 destinations in 100 countries.<br/>