From early 2014 IAG Cargo, the freight business of British Airways and Iberia will increase flights between London Heathrow and the Middle East and Africa.

Tony Snell, Regional Commercial Manager for the Middle East and Africa at IAG Cargo says, “The Middle East and Africa is a key market for IAG Cargo, especially when it comes to the movement of perishables, such as fresh fruit and vegetables. With additional frequencies to and from these three strategic countries we will be well placed to take advantage of growing trade in the region, offering customers the specialist products they need for large volumes of perishables.”

Capacity between London and Tel Aviv will increase as the company introduces a daily Boeing 777-200 to the route, replacing one of the existing Airbus A321 aircraft. The B777 provides customers with a significant increase in capacity to cater for the strong pharma, perishables and technology markets in the region.

Customers in Africa will also benefit from changes to the schedule with Entebbe in Uganda seeing much-improved flight times and an increase in services from three to four flights a week. This will be accompanied by significantly increased flights to Accra in Ghana. An additional three flights a week are being added to Accra, bringing the total number of weekly services up to 10. From 2014, a larger Boeing 747 aircraft will also replace one of the Boeing 767s currently on the route.

Each route will remain connected to the 350 destinations in the airline’s global network, providing customers with further flexibility for onward connections from London Heathrow.