Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP Cargo) will serve 14 freighter destinations and fly cargo to 112 cities this winter, adding Cairo as a new all-cargo link served three times weekly by Boeing 777F aircraft. The winter programme runs from 25 October to 27 March next year and centres on the group's twin hubs at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

The Cairo addition is the headline change on the maindeck network. In a second freighter adjustment, Air France will this winter operate into Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMI) instead of Mumbai (BOM), maintaining the twice-weekly 777F connection but shifting the gateway.

The KLM/Martinair Boeing 747 freighter network will continue linking Amsterdam to key markets across the Americas, Africa and Asia. One routing change stands out: Seoul services to and from Schiphol will run three times weekly, comprising one direct flight and two flights offering a Hong Kong link.

What is new on the bellyhold side?

Beyond the freighters, AFKLMP Cargo is widening its winter bellyhold network from Paris Charles de Gaulle with two new widebody connections:

• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic — three weekly Boeing 777-300ER services from November.
• Malé, Maldives — twice-weekly Airbus A350-900 services from December.

Seasonal services to Ottawa, Canada, and Barbados will also be restored. The 112-city cargo figure includes destinations offered by joint venture partner Delta, which supplies cargo capacity on North Atlantic services to and from Europe.

Why the timing matters

The schedule is built around the demand peaks that define the air cargo winter. Pierre-Olivier Bandet, executive vice president cargo at Air France-KLM, said: "Winter is a demanding season for our customers, from the year-end peak to the flower season in the run-up to Valentine's Day."

He added: "We combine dedicated maindeck capacity with the reach of our widebody and European belly networks via Paris and Amsterdam."

For shippers and forwarders, the appeal is straightforward: guaranteed maindeck capacity on lanes where belly space thins out in the cold-weather months, plus wider reach for destinations that rarely see freighter service at all. Bandet framed the new routes commercially: "With our new services to Cairo, Punta Cana and Malé, we offer our customers reliable capacity, flexibility and more choice throughout the season."

Hub handling also gets an upgrade

The network news follows a ground-handling development confirmed in September. AFKLMP Cargo launched a vacuum lifting aid in the build-up and break-down operation at the KLM Cargo Hub at Schiphol, aimed at making cargo handling less physically demanding.

The equipment, supplied by Swedish company LiftsAll, supports employees handling individual cargo boxes when breaking down pallets, significantly reducing the physical effort involved in lifting and moving cargo.

With Cairo and the Mumbai-gateway shift confirmed, plus added widebody belly capacity into the Caribbean and Indian Ocean from November and December, AFKLMP Cargo has signalled where it sees winter demand concentrating — and shippers on those lanes will find more scheduled options when the programme takes effect on 25 October.