This month marked the beginning of the unprecedented cargo route between Europe and Florianópolis, operated by LATAM group cargo affiliate, departing from Amsterdam (Netherlands) on Mondays and Brussels (Belgium) on Thursdays.

The route operated by LATAM Cargo Chile facilitates imports in southern Brazil of cargo from Europe, making transportation more dynamic, especially for pharmaceuticals, as well as general cargo, automotive, and spare parts. Now, 1.6 thousand tons of international cargo can be transported annually from Europe to Santa Catarina.

To celebrate the landing of the LATAM cargo aircraft from Europe, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday (26) at Floripa Airport. The celebration was attended by authorities such as Jorginho Mello (Governor of Santa Catarina), Topázio Neto (Mayor of Florianópolis), and Beto Martins (Secretary of Ports and Airports of Santa Catarina), executives from both companies, such as Jorge Carretero, Cargo Sales Manager of LATAM in Europe, and Ricardo Gesse, CEO of Zurich Airport Brasil, as well as industry representative entities.

"The inauguration of this unprecedented cargo route is another door we open for world trade with Brazil. We have increasingly expanded our connectivity and having a route that will offer even more efficiency and agility in cargo transportation between the European market and southern Brazil reaffirms LATAM's commitment to the country and how the company is attentive to the market and willing to invest strategically and sustainably," says Jorge Carretero, Central Europe Cargo Sales Manager at LATAM.

In the state capital, it is worth noting, LATAM Cargo Brasil expanded its Miami-Florianópolis cargo route operation from two to three weekly flights in December 2023, inaugurated in 2020. The flights are operated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on Boeing 767-300F aircraft with a capacity of over 50 tons.

"We are investing R$9 million to expand the capacity of our International Cargo Terminal by 400% to meet the high demand. We started the year with the best numbers in the history of the terminal, which has become the number one in weight handled in Santa Catarina. LATAM Cargo has been our partner since the beginning of this growth, with the first international cargo route in the history of Santa Catarina connecting Miami to Floripa, inaugurated in 2020, and now, once again, is by our side on the unprecedented Europe route," says Ricardo Gesse, CEO of Zurich Airport Brasil.