NEW DELHI: With cargo movement showing more promise than ferrying passengers in these pandemic times, SpiceJet has converted three of its turboprop Q400 into freighters. The budget airline, which has transported 11,000 tons of cargo on over 1,650 flights during the lockdown, now has eight freighters — 3 turboprops and 5 Boeing 737s. The newly-converted Q400 will primarily operate to smaller cities.
SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said: “Our cargo operations are doing extremely well and to address the increased demand we have converted three Q400 passenger aircraft into freighters. These are our old 78-seater Q400s and have a cargo capacity of 8.5 tons each. These smaller cargo planes are perfectly suited for operations to Tier II & III cities and to remote and hilly areas in the North East, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh.”
“Today, our cargo network spans over 25 international destinations most of which we added during the lockdown period. We see a tremendous potential in the cargo business and will continue to expand in the times to come,” Singh added. During the lockdown the LCC has been transporting medical and surgical supplies, sanitisers, face masks, coronavirus rapid test kits and IR thermometers.
