In a busy week for cargo, Nottingham East Midlands Airport (NEMA) welcomed two all-cargo operators for the first time.

Cargolux Airlines International and Singapore Airlines Cargo both flew B747-400 Freighters to NEMA direct from the United States on the afternoons of July 14 and 17, respectively.

The flights were transporting Moto GP superbikes and support equipment from the Californian circuit at Laguna Seca to the nearby Donington Park Motor Racing Circuit in preparation for the British Grand Prix event held between July 22 and July 24.

The Cargolux aircraft unloaded 83 tons after flying from San Francisco via Seattle followed by the Singapore aircraft three days later which arrived direct from SFO and deposited a full offload of 103 tonnes. Both aircraft were fully unloaded within 90 minutes of arrival and flew on into Europe from NEMA.

Bill Blanchard, NEMA Cargo Development Manager said, "It's always a pleasure to welcome new carriers to the Airport and to receive two first time visits from such prestigious cargo carriers as Cargolux and Singapore in the same week is certainly a newsworthy event. The unload operations went very smoothly and we look forward to seeing both operators back at NEMA in the future."

NEMA regularly handles B747 Freighters with the Kalitta Air scheduled service passing through every Friday afternoon en-route from the USA to Amsterdam. The Cargolux and Singapore aircraft were both handled by DHL/Aviation Solutions on Cargo West which can accommodate 16 freighters simultaneously including up to 4 x 747's.