CMA CGM Air Cargo is granted US foreign air carrier permit

By Rebecca Jeffrey

Source: CMA CGM

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has granted CMA CGM Air Cargo a foreign air carrier permit.

“We tentatively find and conclude that the public interest warrants granting the applicant a foreign air carrier permit,” said the DOT in a document published on the government’s Regulation.gov website.

Air Cargo News reported that CMA CGM Air Cargo applied for a US foreign air carrier permit last month as CMA CGM moves forward with plans to launch its own Air Operator Certificate (AOC) airline in the first half of this year.

The order, issued on March 16, outlines permission for foreign scheduled and charter cargo air transportation of property and mail between the US and the European Union.

CMA CGM Air Cargo has also been granted an exemption allowing it to carry out services until its permit becomes effective.

The US application document confirms that CMA CGM Air Cargo plans to begin operations in Spring 2022 with service between Paris, France and Chicago in Illinois, New York and Atlanta in Georgia.

Parent CMA CGM has ordered two Boeing 777Fs, four Airbus A350Fs and one A330-200 to be converted into a freighter.

Founded in 2021, CMA CGM is the cargo airline division of the CMA CGM shipping group. It currently has a fleet of four Airbus A330-200Fs, operated by Air Belgium.

CMA CGM is not the only shipping company venturing into the airfreight sector. Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) is interested in acquiring a stake in Italian state airline ITA Airways.