The early start to Egypt’s strawberry season is driving higher demand for air freight capacity to Central and Western Europe. Charter operator AirMaster has launched dedicated perishable-goods flights between Cairo and Hahn Airport, deploying two B737-800BCF aircraft with a capacity of 22 tonnes per flight. Most shipments are destined for DHL Food Logistics and Belgium’s Tulpin Group, which supply wholesalers in Germany and the United Kingdom.
In addition to this charter operation, Egyptair Cargo’s A330F freighters land twice a week at Hahn or Ostend to support strawberry flows. According to Alain Tulpin, CEO of Tulpin, Egypt’s 2025 season started around two weeks earlier than last year, and harvest prospects already look more favourable than in 2024. This momentum is increasing pressure on available main-deck capacity to move fruit from harvest areas to European distribution hubs.
Until now, Egyptair has handled the bulk of these volumes with its own freighters. This season, however, part of the fleet has been assigned to long-term e-commerce routes between China and Europe, reducing the number of aircraft available for berry exports. Additional Egyptair main-deck capacity is expected from December 2025.
To bridge this temporary shortfall, the airline has chartered freighter aircraft from AirMaster. According to Lotfi Zekkour, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Hahn Cargo, the MR flights are expected to continue through Christmas, with a frequency of at least one flight per day—often two. He adds that the partnership began after a direct call from Egyptair Cargo headquarters, which wanted to ensure Hahn Cargo could process perishables without delays. Zekkour also notes that his North African roots and fluency in Arabic helped facilitate the initial exchanges.
AirMaster chose Hahn over other airports in Germany or the Benelux due to its fast handling times and its ability to maintain product quality despite the cold. The presence of local plant-protection agents also helps speed up operations and inspections.
Of the strawberry volumes arriving in Hahn, around 60% remain in Germany, distributed by DHL to wholesalers and retailers such as Rewe and Edeka. The Tulpin Group ships a significant share to the UK via the Channel Tunnel. French freight forwarder Sotracom transfers a smaller portion to France.
This air shuttle is designed to secure the supply chain at the start of the Egyptian season and ensure continuity of shipments until Egyptair restores additional cargo capacity.