SpiceXpress, Astral sign cargo interline agreement to connect India, Africa, Middle East
February 1, 2021: The African all-cargo carrier, Astral Aviation and SpiceXpress have signed a cargo Interline agreement to move shipments, which will include general cargo, courier and pharmaceuticals, between India, Africa and the Middle East.
Astral Aviation is expanding its network to India, where the African airline will have services to and from the Indian cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi.
February 1, 2021: The African all-cargo carrier, Astral Aviation and SpiceXpress have signed a cargo Interline agreement to move shipments, which will include general cargo, courier and pharmaceuticals, between India, Africa and the Middle East.
Thanks to the interline agreement, the Nairobi-based Astral Aviation is expanding its network to India, where the airline will have services to and from the Indian cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi to connect shipments through its Middle Eastern Hub of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates and thereafter onwards into Nairobi and the rest of Africa.
Similarly, SpiceXpress will build and expand its access to Africa by sending shipments to the African destinations of Dar es Salaam - Tanzania, Entebbe-Uganda, Juba-South Sudan, Mwanza-Tanzania, Mogadishu-Somalia, Pemba-Mozambique, Zanzibar-Tanzania, Nairobi-Kenya, Johannesburg-South Africa, Hargeisa-Somalia and Lusaka-Zambia.
Sanjeev Gadhia, chief executive officer of Astral Aviation, said, “Thanks to this interline agreement, there will be easier trade between India and Africa allowing movement of commodities at much more competitive rates in the respective markets as well as providing more scheduled frequencies of flights to the benefit of our customers and traders”.
In a recent video interview provided to the STAT Media Group, he noted that he is excited about the cooperation discussion going on with SpiceJet from India. Gadhia said, "We are the airline in Africa with the highest number of interline partnerships because we believe in the spirit of cooperation. The airline to airline partnerships is very important for the growth of Nairobi hub and Africa as a continent as well.
Sanjiv Gupta, CEO of SpiceXpress, said, “This inter-line agreement will strengthen the trade lanes between the two continents and provide much faster and seamless logistics solutions. It will help SpiceXpress build its African network and ensure SpiceXpress’ presence in the high growth African continent”.
Watch latest interview of Sanjeev Gadhia, CEO, Astral Aviation
