British Airways World Cargo, formerly British Airways Cargo, was a division of IAG Cargo, operating air cargo services under the

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

brand. It was the twelfth-largest

cargo airline Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airline cargo traf ...

in the world by total freight tonne-kilometres flown. Freight services were provided using the main British Airways fleet, as well as dedicated freighter aircraft operating under a

wet lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...

agreement with Global Supply Systems.

History

British Airways first opened a World Cargo centre at Heathrow in the late 1990s; it was an automated freight handling centre capable of handling unusual and premium cargo, and fresh produce, of which it handled over 80,000 tons per year. BA World Cargo also handled freight at London's

Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

and Stansted airports, and, through its partner British Airways Regional Cargo, at all of the main regional airports throughout the UK. The company ended operations on 30 April 2014, having been fully merged into IAG Cargo, however without continuing dedicated cargo flights. BA World Cargo also operated an automated cargo centre at

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the Airports of London, London airport sys ...

, and had a base for long-haul freighter services at

London Stansted Airport London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...

. Following the shuttering of British Airways World Cargo, a new all-cargo airline,

CargoLogicAir CargoLogicAir, Ltd. (CLA) was a British cargo airline with its headquarters at London Heathrow Airport. The airline's fleet of Boeing 747 freight aircraft operated scheduled and chartered freight services on routes between the UK, Asia, Africa ...

, commenced operations in 2015, receiving some staff from Global Supply Systems.

Destinations

BA World Cargo operated dedicated freighter aircraft services to Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, East Asia, North America and Europe from their

London-Stansted London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acros ...

base. BA World Cargo operates using the main BA fleet. Until the end of March 2014 they also operated three

Boeing 747-8 The Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body airliner formerly developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and the largest variant of the 747. After introducing the 747-400, Boeing considered larger 747 versions as alternatives to the proposed double-deck ...

freighter aircraft providing dedicated long-haul services under a

arrangement from Global Supply Systems.

Fleet

British Airways World Cargo 747-8 G-GSSE

Boeing_747-47UF-SCD,_British_Airways_World_Cargo_(Atlas_Air)_AN0174875

BA World Cargo fleet as at April 2014 consisted of: *

Boeing 747-8F The Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body airliner formerly developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and the largest variant of the 747. After introducing the 747-400, Boeing considered larger 747 versions as alternatives to the proposed double-deck ...

(total of 3 were

wet-lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...

d from Global Supply Systems and phased out gradually) BA World Cargo also used space on dedicated freighters operated by other carriers. ;Previously operated Boeing 707-336C, British Airways Cargo AN0710502

Boeing 707-336C, British Airways Cargo AN0710502

Boeing 707-320C The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

Boeing 747-200F The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

Boeing 747-400F The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...

* Vickers 953c Merchantman

References

External links

IAG Cargo
{{Airlines of the United Kingdom British Airways Defunct cargo airlines Cargo airlines of the United Kingdom

History

Destinations

Fleet

See also

References

External links