Turkish Cargo launches freighter service from Europe to Ho Chi Minh

Turkish Cargo announced that it is adding freighter routes from Europe to Ho Chi Minh Airport (SGN) in Vietnam to its flight network. The new routes will be flown by the airline’s 777 freighters. Turkish has acquired three of the freighters since December 2017, and has at least two more on order with Boeing.

Turkish Cargo first established its presence in Vietnam’s capital in 2015, via twice-weekly flights between Istanbul (IST) and Hanoi (HAN) using A330-200Fs. The airline now seeks to expand its flight routes to Vietnam, given shifting cargo trends between Asia and Europe.

Vietnam is gaining attention from manufacturing companies seeking to move operations from mainland China over fears of negative impacts from the trade war between the United States and China, as discussed at the 2018 Cargo Facts Symposium in San Diego last month. This trend, coupled with Ho Chi Minh’s status as Vietnam’s largest city and its pre-existing trade links with Europe, further increases the city’s high export and cargo traffic potential.

SGN currently has a strong Europe-based export market consisting of electrical equipment, fuel, oil, textile products, chemical products for machineries and nuclear equipment. The city’s main imports include electronic items, machinery and equipment, fuel, oil, iron and steel products and plastics.

The new route is also indicative of Turkish Cargo’s continued global expansion efforts, following the airline’s addition of several new freighter flights to its network over the past year.

Turkish Cargo said it will soon announce schedule details for flights between SGN and European cities on its website.