Virgin Atlantic Cargo has posted a 33% growth out of Dubai in the first half of 2015, carrying 2.4 million kilogrammes of freight compared to 1.8 million during the same period last year.

The carrier said that there was an increase in the volume of cargo going to London and beyond, attributing the growth to its additional daily flight to New York JFK, a new flight to Atlanta, as well as the US West Coast port disruptions.

“Given the intense level of competition in the region, our performance from Dubai in the opening six months of 2015 is very encouraging,” said John Lloyd, senior vice president of cargo at Virgin Atlantic. “Our increased capacity to the US has made a big difference and was particularly important during this period as customers looked for alternative routes into the US to avoid the port disruptions there. We have also seen improvements in our service levels this year after they were impacted towards the end of 2014 during our ground handler’s relocation in Dubai. The result for the first half is testimony to our customers’ confidence in Virgin Atlantic’s seamless cargo connections through our London hub and our aim now is to maintain this for the rest of the year.”

Virgin awarded a new GSA contract to Globe Air Cargo in Dubai in August 2014. Shiranka Leo, managing director of Globe Air Cargo, said that the Virgin brand has significant recognition in the region and that forwarders in Dubai have responded positively, despite strong competition.

“Additionally, our customer service team ensures that regular updates are communicated on time after each departure from origin to destination,” said Leo. “Today’s cargo industry is very demanding and the only way to stay ahead of the competition is by being professional in every aspect of the business. Our aim is to do even better in the next six months and end the year on a high, proving our capability to manage a famous brand like Virgin with integrity and total confidence.”

Virgin started flying to Dubai over nine years ago, according to the airline. It now operates a daily Airbus A330-300 flight which offers approximately 20 tonnes of cargo capacity.

In October 2014, Virgin started operating a London Heathrow-Atlanta flight as part of an enhanced partnership with Delta Air Lines, bringing the number of US destinations to 11.