Saudia Cargo, Cainiao Network ink deal to support e-commerce operations between China and Europe

• These flights will form an air bridge between Asia and Europe to cater to the high demand on e-commerce.

March 01, 2021: Saudia Cargo signed a cargo agreement with Cainiao Network, the logistic arm of Alibaba Group, to support e-commerce operations between China and Europe by operating five weekly flights from Hong Kong to Liege in Belgium with Riyadh city as a connection point. These flights will form an air bridge between Asia and Europe to cater to the high demand on e-commerce, which lately became the world’s No.1 shopping preference.

Saudia Cargo CEO, Omar Hariri, commented, “We are excited for this strategic agreement which will enhance logistic services between the two continents through the famous Alibaba’s e-commerce platform and its high traffic of online shoppers. This agreement is part of our framework to transform the Kingdom into an open gate for world trade and a bridge connecting East and West by leveraging its strategic location in the center of the world. Other promising partnerships will be coming up in the near future to reinforce logistic operations of Alibaba in both continents.”

“The global pandemic has revealed the urging need for cargo services due to the rapidly growing demand on online shopping. We are working closely with our worldwide partners to execute the most effective logistic solutions to guarantee a constant flow of cargo with punctual delivery,” he added.

Cainiao logistic services cover more than 200 countries around the world positioning it has one of the most popular logistics service providers for many retailers and consumers globally.

“We are happy to launch of collaboration with Saudia Cargo. Both our sellers and customers from China, Saudi Arabia and Europe will benefit from the new flights that will decrease delivery time for their parcels. Expanding our logistics network into new regions will also help us in building efficient global exports network. This new route will be one of the key elements to create seamless logistics and increase synergy between different regions,” stated William Xiong, Cainiao's chief strategist and general manager of export logistics of Cainiao Network.

Since the start of the pandemic, Saudia Cargo has announced several measures to ensure the continuity of its highly efficient logistic operations such as increasing cargo flights to many destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and the US to keep a regular flow of vital products and maintain the economic and commercial sustainability in the Kingdom.

With a fleet of 7 freighter aircrafts (4 B777 and 3 B747-400F), Saudia Cargo has adequate space and tonnage capacity to haul e-commerce goods on different routes.