Saudia Cargo has announced the signing of cargo agreement with IT and logistics operator, Cainiao Network– the logistic arm of Alibaba Group – to support e-commerce operations between China and Europe.
By operating five weekly flights from Hong Kong to Liege in Belgium with Riyadh city as a connection point, these flights will form a sky bridge between Asia and Europe to cater to the high demand on e-commerce.
Saudia Cargo CEO, Omar Hariri (pictured above), said: “We are excited for this strategic agreement which will enhance logistic services between the two continents through the famous Alibaba’s e-commerce platform and its high traffic of online shoppers. This agreement is part of our framework to transform the Kingdom into an open gate for world trade and a bridge connecting East and West by leveraging its strategic location in the centre of the world. Other promising partnerships will be coming up in the near future to reinforce logistic operations of Alibaba in both continents.”
“The global pandemic has revealed the urging need for cargo services due to the rapidly growing demand on online shopping. We are working closely with our worldwide partners to execute the most effective logistic solutions to guarantee a constant flow of cargo with punctual delivery,” he added.
Since the start of the pandemic, Saudia Cargo says that it has announced several measures to ensure the continuity of its logistic operations such as increasing cargo flights to many destinations in Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and USA to keep a regular flow of vital products and maintain the economic and commercial sustainability in the Kingdom.
With a fleet of seven freighter aircrafts (four Boeing 777 and three Boeing 747-400F), Saudia Cargo says that it has adequate space and tonnage capacity to haul e-commerce goods on different routes, cared for by trained personnel.
“We are happy to launch of collaboration with Saudia Cargo. Both our sellers and customers from China, Saudi Arabia and Europe will benefit from the new flights that will decrease delivery time for their parcels. Expanding our logistics network into new regions will also help us in building efficient global exports network. This new route will be one of the key elements to create seamless logistics and increase synergy between different regions”, added Cainiao’s chief strategist and general manager of export logistics, William Xiong.