Virgin Atlantic’s cargo-only flying is set to increase by 60 per cent this month.

Capacity has increased on key routes, the airline said, with cargo-only rotations up from 21 to 33 per week in January.

Virgin Atlantic noted that this included daily flights between London and Brussels, offering “seamless and speedy” same day European connections.

Virgin Atlantic Cargo operated a record-breaking 4,000 cargo only flights in 2020, and also launched 10 new routes [Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dublin, Milan, Islamabad, Lahore, San Juan and Xiamen].

“The growth in our cargo-only flying this January demonstrates the agility and flexibility of our teams in order to maintain a resilient cargo operation in such dynamic market conditions,” said Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s managing director Dominic Kennedy.

“Despite a decrease in passengers travelling, demand to transport cargo remains strong and we’re delighted to play our part transporting a whole range of goods across the world, keeping vital global supply chains moving.

“We’re thankful for the support of our customers throughout an unprecedented 2020 and want to emphasise we are once again here with a broad cargo destination portfolio and charter capability to support 2021 demand.”