Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – A video clip of Emirates Airlines showed that it has modified Boeing 777-300ER passenger planes to provide additional cargo capacity by removing seats from the Economy Class cabin.
This measure was applied in response to the increasing demand of the air freight market for the rapid transport of essential products, such as personal protection equipment, medicines, medical equipment, food, machinery and other supplies around the world.
Emirates Air Cargo will operate 10 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with Economy Class seats removed, allowing an additional capacity of 17 tons or 132 cubic meters of additional cargo capacity per flight. In addition to a capacity ranging from 40 to 50 tons in the cargo hold of each plane.
According to a press release issued by Emirates Airlines, these modified planes will be used on the lines linking the main production and consumption markets, which the carrier believes is witnessing a high demand for the movement of goods urgently required.
According to the press release, Nabil Sultan, Senior Vice President of the Emirates Cargo Department, said: “With the modified Boeing aircraft, today we will be able to transport more cargo on each flight, allowing us to deliver more products to its destinations efficiently and quickly.”
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The Engineering Department of Emirates Airlines is responsible for implementing the process of modifying the Boeing 777-300ER in its modern facilities in Dubai, where each conversion takes 640 working hours.
Engineers are working to remove 305 economy-class seats on each aircraft, install safety equipment, and carry out regular tests to load cargo during the operation.
The Emirates Engineering team has so far modified 7 aircraft, and three more planes are scheduled to be ready by mid-July 2020.
By the end of the project, the Emirates Engineering team will have removed 3050 seats in the Economy Class 10 cabin, as it will be stored in a healthy and safe environment until the time comes to return the aircraft to passenger service.
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Emirates Air Cargo has strict rules regarding the type of cargo that can be loaded into the modified Economy Class cabin, with an emphasis on safety of operations.
According to the press release, these shipments include general merchandise, such as personal protective equipment, clothing, and medicines, that can be stored within temperatures between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius, and fragile products, such as flowers and fruit and vegetable items that do not produce strong odors.
In compliance with the regulations set out by the International Air Transport Association, goods that are shipped in cabins should be placed in suitable containers, such as plastic or cardboard boxes.
According to the press release, Emirates Air Cargo operates flights to more than 85 international destinations every week.
During the Corona Virus pandemic, it is reported that the Emirates Air Cargo is working to provide markets around the world with basic commodity supplies, including personal protective equipment, foodstuffs, and e-commerce goods in addition to other machinery and equipment.
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