Etihad Airways has signed an agreement to develop cargo traffic at Parma Airport.

According to Etihad, a cargo transit centre will be set up at the airport in order to receive and forward cargo to Milan Malpensa Airport. The project is to be developed in conjunction with Etihad Cargo and Etihad’s equity partners.

“This agreement with Parma Airport is a further demonstration of our confidence in Italy, one of the largest cargo markets in Europe,” said David Kerr, vice president of Etihad Cargo. “We have already strengthened our freighter capacity out of Milan in the last few weeks, having placed a new 777 freighter on the Milan-Bogota sector, so the opportunity to use Parma gives us a further chance to strengthen our cargo services from Europe.”

The airport has already started to adapt its current infrastructure so that the new centre can begin operations in July 2016.

“The agreement with an international partner of the calibre of Etihad Airways is confirmation of the potential of this airport and an important indication of the commitment of the Parma business community to ensuring the continuity and progress of a vital piece of infrastructure that will benefit the local economy,” said Alberto Figna, chairman of the Parma Industrialist’s Union, which is one of the major shareholders in the airport. “It is expected that the new transit centre will also have a positive direct and indirect impact on employment in the local area.”

Located approximately 125km from Milan, Parma is a large exporter of high-value goods such as ham and cheese that require temperature-controlled air freight services.

Etihad Cargo flies its freighters from Milan to Abu Dhabi four times a week and to Bogota twice a week, offering a total capacity of 800 tonnes. Together with partner Alitalia, Etihad also offers bellyhold capacity on 38 flights per week from Milan, Rome and Venice to Abu Dhabi.