AirBridgeCargo Airlines, LLC (), part of Volga-Dnepr Group, was the largest Russian cargo airline, with its head office in Moscow. It operated scheduled cargo services on routes between Russia, Asia, Europe and North America, covering more than 30 destinations worldwide. All flights connected to their hub at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk. It was forced to suspend all operations in the wake of sanctions against Russia as of March 2022.
History The company entered the scheduled cargo market on 1 April 2004, when the first AirBridgeCargo branded Boeing 747 made its inaugural commercial flight on route from Beijing to Luxembourg.
As of March 2022, AirBridgeCargo was forced to suspend all operations due to sanctions against Russia which rendered the entire fleet unusable.aircargonews.net - VDG confirms suspension of AirBridgeCargo and Atran operations 21 March 2022 In July 2022, the airline announced it would comply with sanctions and prepare to return 14 leased aircraft - which made up the majority of its fleet - to its lessors.aircargonews.net - AirBridgeCargo applies to return freighters to lessors 1 July 2022
In March 2023, it became known that the company planned to resume flights using Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft. Volga-Dnepr had begun searching for pilots with appropriate training. However, by late 2023 these plans were abandoned, with two Il-96 formerly stored and already prepared for AirBridgeCargo being delivered to Sky Gates Airlines instead.flugrevue.de (German) 4 December 2023
Destinations Prior to the suspension of all services, ABC had been present in Asia, Europe and North America. It operates a scheduled freighter route network of 37 destinations as of November 2019, focused on Europe, Asia and the United States.airbridgecargo.com - Our network retrieved 27 February 2021
CountryCityAirportNotesBelgiumLiègeLiège AirportChinaBeijingBeijing Capital International AirportShanghaiShanghai Pudong International AirportShenzhenShenzhen Bao'an International AirportZhengzhouZhengzhou Xinzheng International AirportGermanyFrankfurtFrankfurt AirportLeipzigLeipzig/Halle AirportHong KongChek Lap KokHong Kong International AirportIndiaMumbaiChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International AirportIndonesiaJakartaSoekarno–Hatta International AirportItalyMilanMilan Malpensa AirportJapanTokyoNarita International AirportKazakhstanKaragandaSary-Arka AirportNetherlandsAmsterdamAmsterdam Airport SchipholNorwayOsloOslo AirportRussiaEkaterinburgKoltsovo International AirportKazanKazan International AirportKrasnoyarskKrasnoyarsk International AirportMoscowMoscow Domodedovo AirportSheremetyevo International AirportSingaporeSingaporeChangi AirportSouth KoreaSeoulIncheon International AirportSpainMadridAdolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas AirportZaragozaZaragoza AirportThailandBangkokSuvarnabhumi AirportTurkeyIstanbulIstanbul AirportUnited Arab EmiratesDubaiDubai International AirportUnited KingdomLondonHeathrow AirportUnited StatesAnchorageTed Stevens Anchorage International AirportAtlantaHartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International AirportChicagoO'Hare International Airport
Fleet
As of March 2024, AirBridgeCargo currently no longer operates any aircraft after returning their fleet to its lessors. AirBridgeCargo formerly operated the following aircraft:
+ AirBridgeCargo former fleetAircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotesBoeing 737-400SF120152017Boeing 747-200F520042012Boeing 747-300SF120052012Boeing 747-400F1220072022Boeing 747-8F1320102024Boeing 777F120202022
Accidents and incidents
On September 11, 2012, an AirBridgeCargo Boeing 747-8F experienced a major engine malfunction that spread a significant amount of metallic debris on the runway. Like in a similar event during pre-flight taxi tests, the low pressure turbine shaft separated and moved the low pressure turbine (by design to avoid turbine overspeed) backwards braking on surrounding hardware. On July 31, 2013, an AirBridgeCargo Boeing 747-8F experienced core engine icing that caused engine malfunctions and damage to three engines near Chengdu, China, while en route to Hong Kong; the aircraft landed safely at its destination. Boeing and General Electric would later work on software changes to mitigate the effects of core engine icing.
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