Emirates SkyCargo opens new terminal in Dubai South

Named Emirates SkyCentral, the cargo facility will house SkyCargo's fleet of 15 freighter aircraft

11 November 2015

Emirates SkyCargo's new terminal at the new Logistics District in Dubai South (earlier Dubai World Central) was officially inaugurated on Tuesday during the Dubai Air Show.

Named Emirates SkyCentral, the cargo facility will house SkyCargo's fleet of 15 freighter aircraft.

The terminal features centralised screening, an integrated police facility, cool chain storage areas spread across 15,000 square metres and fully automated material handling systems.

“The space it currently occupies on the land allocated to us at Dubai South is part of a much bigger area, which we can develop over time to increase our cargo handling capacity to achieve our vision of 12 million tonnes annually by 2050, from the current 2.3 million tonnes," said Emirates Divisional senior vice president of Cargo Nabil Sultan.

The terminal is located 77 kilometres from Dubai International Airport, with factories and forwarders in the surrounding areas, and in close proximity to a dedicated corridor to the Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone.

The facility first became operational in May 2014 and since then Emirates SkyCargo has managed dual operations – of belly hold cargo at its Cargo Mega Terminal at Dubai International and freighter cargo at DWC.

Cargo is transported between the two airports via a bonded virtual corridor. Emirates SkyCargo has 47 trucks that ply the route, with each truck being equipped with satellite tracking to ensure the safety and security of cargo and staff.

The cargo movement is now part of its operations, with a transit time of five hours between the arrival of goods to their departure from freighter to belly hold and vice versa, a statement said.

The freighters that operate from Emirates SkyCentral fly to more than 50 destinations around the world, it added. 


Emirates SkyCargo currently uses cargo hold capacity in Emirates' fleet of more than 240 aircraft, including 15 freighters - 13 Boeing 777-Fs and two B747-400ERFs - and provides air cargo services to more than 145 destinations around the world.

The company reported revenues of Dhs 12.3bn in its financial year of 2014-2015, up 9 per cent year-on-year and also contributed to 15 per cent of the airline's total transport revenue.