Press releases

Virgin Atlantic Cargo has confirmed the appointment of ECS Group, through its subsidiary TCE, as its new General Sales & Service Agent (GSSA) in Continental Europe, with implementation starting from later this year in a phased approach.

Initial representation will cover exports from the Netherlands, Denmark and Italy, expanding its representation to all 14 countries across Continental Europe.

^{Posted 13th September 2024}

Virgin Atlantic Cargo is delighted to announce the appointment of Nick Diesel as its new Managing Director, effective 4th August 2024.  

Nick has been at Virgin Atlantic for nine years and during this time has held various senior leadership roles, most recently as Vice President, Financial Planning, with responsibility for leading the team through post-pandemic recovery and setting a pathway to return to profitability.  

^{Posted 31st May 2024}

Our mission? To reach Net Zero by 2050.

We’re delighted to announce the launch of our Sustainable Aviation Fuel Certificate (SAFc) programme, designed to help our customers manage their carbon emissions whilst demonstrating joint commitment to scaling the SAF industry.

Our first customer to participate in the scheme is DB Schenker who have purchased several thousand tonnes of Scope 3 emissions reductions. Together we’re stepping closer to a more sustainable future.

^{Posted 13th July 2023}

We are pleased to announce our global partnership with cargo.one, which will bring our capacity to the real-time digital booking platform.

^{Posted 17th May 2023}

Virgin Atlantic Cargo has launched myVS, an expansion of the airline’s digital platform. It allows customers to quote, book, manage, and track their cargo shipments online, at any time, whilst supporting the business’ plans for digitalisation.

^{Posted 4th May 2023}

Virgin Atlantic Cargo is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Faulkner as its new Head of Cargo Commercial. Having begun his cargo career 19 years Mark brings a wealth of experience within the aviation sector and in the world of cargo to the airline.

^{Posted 25th April 2023}

Bat for a Chance (BFAC), the cricket charity helping underprivileged children experience the joy of cricket is to partner with the CATCH Trust and Virgin Atlantic Cargo in a new South African cricket partnership for 2023.

^{Posted 23th January 2023}

Shipments consisting of over 20 tonnes of vital medicines has left the UK heading for Pakistan, where it will be distributed to victims of the recent flooding disaster and resulting humanitarian disaster.

^{Posted 23rd November 2022}

Virgin Atlantic Cargo has approved the use of Envirotainer’s game-changing Releye® RLP and RAP containers, as the airline continues to grow its pharmaceutical and life science offering.

^{Posted 03rd August 2022}

Virgin Atlantic Cargo is transforming the infrastructure of its fast-growing business to maintain and grow volumes won during the pandemic.

The airline has chosen FLX Cargo, Accelya’s integrated cargo platform, as the key pillar to deliver its business strategy, underpinned by a relentless focus on commercial and operations optimization.

^{Posted 11th April 2022}

Virgin Atlantic Cargo is delighted to announce the appointment of Phil Wardlaw as its new Vice President and Managing Director.

Phil has been at Virgin Atlantic for 17 years and during this time has held numerous leadership roles. He succeeds Dominic Kennedy, who takes on the role of Senior Vice President Revenue Management, Distribution & Holidays role at the airline in January 2022.

^{Posted 8th December 2021}

New twice-weekly services from London Heathrow to Bahamas commence on 20^th November

Virgin Atlantic is delighted to announce new flying to the Bahamas from London Heathrow this winter as well as increasing frequency to Barbados

As travel restrictions around the world begin to relax, the new services aim to respond to the pent-up demand from consumers looking to head off on a relaxing holiday to a sunny Caribbean destination. 

Virgin Atlantic Cargo and Delta Cargo have extended their long-standing partnership with dnata for a further five years, continuing the successful operation of ground handing and export services from the joint London Heathrow hub and Manchester Airport. The partnership also includes regional cargo gateways London Gatwick, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Newcastle.

Virgin Atlantic Cargo has extended its contract with air cargo terminal operator Hactl for a further five years. The extension demonstrates the continued success and commitment of the two partners, continuing their long serving partnership which is loved by customers.  

The five year extension will allow Virgin Atlantic Cargo and its customers further access to the operator’s leading world class cargo handling and warehousing facilities. Hactl is currently celebrating its 45^th anniversary, and has a history of major industry investment, innovative technology and best practices. Hactl is the only commercially-neutral air cargo terminal operator at Hong Kong International Airport. 

Airline will fly 200 boxes of oxygen concentrators to Delhi on Saturday 1st May

Further cargo space will be given free of charge on Virgin Atlantic flights to India for the next week, in association with The Red Cross

Internal fundraising efforts have so far raised over £13,000 in just three days

Virgin Atlantic has partnered with Khalsa Aid to deliver over 200 boxes of oxygen concentrators to Delhi, India. The concentrators will be onboard the VS300 flying at 20:15 on Saturday 30 April from London Heathrow to Delhi.

Virgin Atlantic’s Pharma service will use SkyCell’s temperature-controlled containers to ship valuable, life-saving pharmaceuticals around the world.

Zurich, 14th April 2021 - SkyCell, the leading manufacturer of innovative pharma containers, has partnered with Virgin Atlantic to contribute to its safe, secure, and sustainable shipment of valuable vaccines and pharma products.

Virgin Atlantic will use SkyCell containers covering the full range of biologics transit temperature requirements:

-80°C, -25°C to -15°C, +2°C to +8°C, and up to +15°C to + 25°C.

Virgin Atlantic Cargo is extending its cargo-only network to Evenes, operating flights between London Heathrow and Norway for the first time in its history.

The first official flight will depart on Wednesday 3^rd February, and the airline is set to offer twice weekly flights on its Boeing 787-9 aircraft offering over 100 tonnes of capacity each week, primarily serving the Norwegian seafood and fish industry. 

Virgin Atlantic is set to increase its cargo-only flying by 60% this January as its operation continues to go from strength to strength. Despite a decrease in passengers travelling due to the UK’s latest lockdown as well as travel restrictions in many destinations, demand to transport cargo remains strong and the airline’s cargo operation has adapted once more to a rapidly changing external environment. 

Virgin Atlantic Cargo will commence flights between the UK and Pakistan this Monday, supporting growing trade volumes between exporters and importers in both countries. Flights are set to launch from London Heathrow to Lahore on 7^th December, Manchester to Islamabad on 10^th December, and London Heathrow to Islamabad on 12^th December.

This is the first time that Virgin Atlantic Cargo has flown to Pakistan, the airline is continuing to innovate and expand its destination offering in line with demand. The new services will add over 66 direct flights to Pakistan each month, expanding the direct UK to Pakistan market by 90% in December alone. 

Virgin Atlantic Cargo is delighted to announce it is launching a new cargo service from London Heathrow to San Juan. Commencing on the 24^th November, it is the first time that the airline has operated cargo flying to Puerto Rico and it will be serving the destination twice weekly on a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

This new fast, efficient cargo service will present new opportunities for companies looking to export and import goods such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and electronic devices between prime markets in the UK and Europe and Puerto Rico. 

Virgin Atlantic’s cargo operation has today unveiled new capabilities in readiness to handle the logistical complexities of distributing Covid-19 vaccines on its global network.

To ensure the safety and security of this valuable cargo, the airline has introduced a new Pharma Secure service for all urgent, valuable and vulnerable pharmaceutical and life sciences shipments. Working with their customers and responding to their specific requirements, the new product will include a 24/7 support team, automatic live status updates, proactive service recovery and periodical integrity checks, temperature-controlled facilities and a dedicated booking team.

Virgin Atlantic Cargo will be launching flights between the UK and Pakistan in December 2020, supporting growing trade volumes between exporters and importers in both countries. Trade in goods and services between the UK and Pakistan is worth some £3.3 billion a year, rising 4.7% year-on-year in 2019, with high volumes of goods such as textiles, apparel and machinery. The UK is the third biggest global market for Pakistani exporters after the US and China and their main trade lane in Europe. Virgin Atlantic will operate three new routes; London Heathrow to Lahore; London Heathrow to Islamabad as well Manchester to Islamabad.

Virgin Atlantic Cargo is extending its cargo-only network to Italy, launching twice-weekly services connecting London Heathrow and Milan.

Starting with the first flight on Saturday 12th September, the airline will subsequently commence Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 flights from London every Thursday and Sunday offering up to 50 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight to and from Milan’s Malpensa Airport.

Virgin Atlantic has reached a major milestone towards securing its future today, by announcing plans for a private-only solvent recapitalisation of the airline, following the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy, the nation and the travel and aviation industry. 

Virgin Atlantic will increase its cargo-only flights by over 33% to nearly 600 in June with the launch of new routes including Beijing and Brussels following the success of its May programme.

Virgin Atlantic is set to deliver over 43 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) in to the UK onboard special cargo-only flights which have been chartered by the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS throughout May, June and July.

Virgin Atlantic will operate over 90 cargo-only flights per week in May as it helps customers reopen vital trade lanes connecting the UK with prime freight markets in the US, Hong Kong and China, India, Israel and South Africa. 

Virgin Atlantic will relaunch scheduled cargo-only flights from London to Tel Aviv from May 6th , which will also offer same day connections over the UK to and from the US, Hong Kong, Shanghai and South Africa.