Saudia Cargo wins coveted Airline of the Year-Asia Award at ACN Awards 2021

Saudia Cargo, a global leader in airfreight, clinched the Airline of the Year-Asia Award at Air Cargo News Awards 2021 in London, a highly coveted industry award-giving body distinctively referred to as its Oscars counterpart.

The multi-awarded cargo carrier’s latest award acknowledges its unique focus on Asia and its growing importance in facilitating global trade and support the society at large, especially in difficult times. It also plays an active role in distributing COVID-19 vaccines under COVAX, the equitable worldwide vaccine alliance working to contain the pandemic. The 37th ACN Awards was held on 16 September 2021 in London.

Saudi Cargo safely transported more than 500,000 tons of cargo and operated over 6,000 cargo flights in 2020. With uninterrupted airfreight services between KSA, Asia-Pacific, and beyond, using innovative pax-freighter solutions, the carrier helped supply Saudi Arabia and the world with vital medical cargo like PPE, masks, ventilators, medicines, vaccines, among other necessities.

Strategically located connecting East and West, Saudi has become an airbridge for Saudia Cargo to seamlessly transport goods between continents in less than 10 hours, safely and quickly.

Saudia Cargo flies to China, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and other major cities in Asia. With flourishing e-commerce industry, the cargo carrier seeks to expand its network, services, and frequencies in the region. Lately, Saudi Cargo became the preferred courier in Hong Kong and China for leading online platforms with its highly reliable weekly flights.

The airline increased its flights to Asia early this year, to/from China’s key financial cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou, and at the start of Q4 expanded flights to Hongkong and this move is seen to continue in 2022.

On winning the Best Cargo Airline of the Year-Asia 2021, Saudia Cargo CEO Teddy Zebitz commented, “The pandemic remains a major threat to the world and we are proud and happy to contribute to the global efforts to address this situation by safely and efficiently transporting medical cargo and other essential goods, including e-commerce, between continents. Winning this award for Saudia Cargo means so much to our teams around the world, on air and on the ground. Thank you for this recognition which will surely motivate us to do better in empowering people, businesses and communities.”

China, the world’s second largest economy, is now Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner for both exports and imports. In July 2021, 19.6 percent of Saudi’s exports globally went to China amounting to 18 billion Riyals, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics announced.

Trade between the countries reached a record high of $78.18 billion in 2019, up by 23% year-on-year and increased about 150-fold since they began trading in 1990 valued at less than half a million dollars.
Marking their 30th year of diplomatic ties in 2020, the two countries agreed to further widen their trade relations, specifically on energy, commerce and investments, anchored on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Kingdom’s Saudi Vision 2030 which aims to establish the country as the next global logistics hub. With which, Saudia Cargo is seen to transport more goods between the countries.
“Saudia Cargo is well-positioned and well-prepared to transport cargo of any kind throughout Asia, the Middle East and beyond, as trade activities between countries pick-up to support development projects, e-commerce and global economic recovery efforts in general. We’re here to connect the world’s cargo,” the Saudia Cargo CEO assured.

Saudia Cargo is gearing up to expand services to its existing markets, particularly in Asia, starting this holiday season continuing through 2022. A member of SkyTeam Cargo, the world’s largest alliance of cargo airlines, the airfreight carrier has access to a network of more than 900 destinations worldwide.