DARWIN, Australia: July 25, 2018. Next month Qantas Freight will launch a weekly B767-300 freighter service to Hong Kong carrying up to 50 tonnes of perishables per flight.

The only direct cargo link between Australia’s Northern Territory and Hong Kong will provide growers and exporters an opportunity to deliver chilled meat, seafood, dairy, fruit and vegetables, as well as general cargo into Asia “faster and fresher”.

The aircraft will depart Darwin every Sunday night and arrive in Hong Kong six hours later at 11pm local time.

Qantas Freight COO Nick McGlynn said the direct service would be a great alternative for freight customers in and around Darwin and Northern Australia.

“Producers throughout the Northern Territory often find themselves transporting large volumes of perishables via road to the east coast to meet a cargo connection to Asia. This process can take up to five days, which reduces the shelf life of the product when it arrives at its destination,” he commented.

The Qantas Group is a long-term investor in the Northern Territory and in its last fiscal year contributed more than A$150 million to the local economy. “We’d like to acknowledge the support of Darwin Airport in launching this new freight service, in collaboration with the Northern Territory government, ” McGlynn added.

Qantas currently carries freight to over 20 destinations in Asia including locations in China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.