Lufthansa Cargo and ITA Expand Collaboration

With the start of the winter flight schedule on October 26, 2025, the collaboration between Lufthansa Cargo and ITA Airways has been further expanded: Freight shipments are now also being transported under Lufthansa Cargo’s own 020-AWB number on flights departing from Rome-Fiumicino Airport. In the last two weeks, over 1,000 tons of cargo have already been transported in the cargo holds of ITA Airways passenger aircraft.

(Frankfurt) The collaboration between the two companies, which began in June on flights to Rome-Fiumicino Airport, is now almost fully implemented. Connections to and from the USA and Canada are currently excluded until the necessary regulatory approvals are in place.

By adding more routes from Rome, Lufthansa Cargo is prospectively expanding its offering of supplementary cargo capacities by around 20 percent. Rome-Fiumicino will become the fifth European hub alongside Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, and Brussels. Customers benefit from expanded route options and greater flexibility in the intercontinental network. Starting now, up to 30 additional weekly cargo connections to South America (Buenos Aires EZE, Rio de Janeiro GIG, Sao Paulo GRU) and up to 21 additional flights per week to Asia (Bangkok BKK, New Delhi DEL, Tokyo-Haneda HND) are available.

In addition, seasonal connections from Rome to Mauritius (MRU) and Malé (MLE) are being offered. Up to 71 weekly connections are available to and from North Africa (Algiers ALG, Cairo CAI, Accra ACC, Dakar DSS, Tunis TUN) and the Middle East (Dubai DXB, Riyadh RUH). The new Lufthansa Cargo hub also expands the intra-European RFS and continental network, enabling closer connections to the existing hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Brussels, and Vienna.

“The first cargo connections of Lufthansa Cargo from Rome are an important milestone in expanding our global network for our customers. Our customers benefit not only from many new cargo connections around the globe but also from a strong hub in Southern Europe. This gives us the broadest network in Europe and once again underscores our goal of providing our customers with even better transport solutions – in line with our mission statement ‘Enabling Global Business’,” explains Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.

Strengthening the Group-wide Network

The collaboration between ITA Airways and Lufthansa Cargo was agreed upon as part of the Lufthansa Group’s investment in the Italian airline. Since June, Lufthansa Cargo has been gradually marketing cargo capacities from ITA Airways on various routes to further strengthen the group-wide network and respond flexibly to changing market conditions.

Photo: © Lufthansa Cargo