BOURNEMOUTH Airport has taken a “major step” towards becoming a UK freight hub after a carrier won permission to turn a fleet of ex-passenger planes into freighters.

European Cargo is converting six Airbus A340s and has options on six more as demand grows.

The carrier has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for turning the wide-bodied craft into long-haul freighters. Two have been completed with a third in progress and the initial six set to be ready in early 2023.

 

The airport says the EASA certification paves the way for a similar approval by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), with European Cargo hoping for the green light in the new year.

To win the approval, the carrier had to install a sophisticated fire detection and suppression system, including live testing at altitude.

European Cargo’s managing director, Iain Edwards, said: “EASA certification is a landmark moment in the development of our fleet. Our pod containment system has proven itself through a rigorous testing regime and means we are on track for full cabin utilisation, giving each aircraft a combined belly and cabin capacity of 77 tonnes or 450 cubic metres.

“With six freighters already at Bournemouth for conversion and a further six available to us, that catapults us into the number one slot of UK-based wide-bodied carriers by some margin. And it makes Bournemouth Airport a huge contender in the UK air freight market.”

Steve Gill, managing director at Bournemouth Airport, which has its own freight operation, Cargo First, said: “We’d like to congratulate Iain and his team on achieving EASA certification for their first A340 conversion. It’s a great achievement and pending further CAA approval paves the way for the introduction of hundreds of tonnes of global freight capacity from Bournemouth in the new year.”

BCP Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Philip Broadhead, said: “This is a huge step forward in establishing a strategic air freight hub at Bournemouth Airport, which will attract further investment and create jobs. The combination of European Cargo’s freight capacity and Cargo First’s efficient handling operation means Bournemouth is well placed to attract more business from the congested hub airports around London.”

European Cargo’s fleet is made up of former Virgin Atlantic and Etihad Airbus A340 passenger aircraft. Its first conversion is an ex-Virgin A340-600, once the world’s longest airliner stretching to 75.4metres (247ft) and capable of carrying up to 370 passengers.

The conversion process has involved the removal of all bulkheads, rear galley and toilets and replacing them with 39 pods in six different sizes. Each pod is covered by a fire containment bag tested to withstand a lithium battery fire for six and a half hours.

Any fire can be contained to a single pod, safeguarding the rest of the cargo and aircraft, and enabling a safe diversion to a suitable landing location, even during long trans-oceanic flights.