UAE carrier sharpens focus on Gulf–Africa trade corridors

Dubai-based cargo airline SolitAir has added Port Harcourt International Airport in Nigeria and Egal International Airport in Hargeisa, Somaliland, to its freighter network. These are dedicated airport-to-airport express cargo services. The carrier now serves 20 destinations across 16 African countries and operates more than 60 destinations in 35 countries across Asia, Africa and Europe.

Port Harcourt anchors Nigeria’s oil and gas economy. It serves as a key regional air cargo gateway for industrial and energy-sector freight. Hargeisa, by contrast, connects a commercial region where livestock and time-sensitive agricultural exports depend heavily on reliable freighter lift. Both additions align with SolitAir’s focus on high-yield industrial and agribusiness flows.

Founder and chief executive Hamdi Osman describes Nigeria and Somaliland as demand-led choices. Routes are built around where customers need cargo moved. That discipline positions the SolitAir Africa expansion as a response to proven trade flows, not speculative capacity deployment.

What does the expansion mean for cargo capacity?

To launch the Nigerian route, SolitAir operated an inaugural specialised cargo flight to Port Harcourt. The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800BCF freighter, which carries approximately 20 tonnes of cargo per flight. The routing ran Dubai World Central–Nairobi–Port Harcourt–Nairobi–Kuwait–Dubai World Central. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi served as the East African hub on the multi-leg service.

This routing shows how the carrier is integrating West African demand into its existing Gulf–East Africa corridor. SolitAir currently operates a fleet of seven Boeing 737-800BCF freighters from its hub at Dubai World Central, which became fully operational in October 2024. The airline is targeting a fleet of up to 20 aircraft by end-2027, which would nearly triple current capacity in three years.

One senior logistics analyst put it plainly: SolitAir is moving from niche Gulf carrier to a systemic connector for mid-tier African trade corridors. Boeing forecasts that Africa’s commercial aircraft fleet will grow from roughly 755 aircraft in 2025 to around 1,625 by 2045, per the manufacturer’s current market outlook. That trajectory supports dedicated freighter investment across the continent.

Regulatory credentials and the road ahead

SolitAir holds a UAE General Civil Aviation Authority Air Operator’s Certificate. The airline also holds European and UK third-country operator authorisations and ACC3 designation. These credentials support cargo flows into Europe and across the wider Eurasian network, which matters for African export chains linked to Gulf consolidation hubs.

For investors and trade policymakers, the signals are clear. Dedicated narrow-body freighters can profitably serve secondary African cities when paired with a flexible hub-and-spoke model. Dubai is consolidating its role as the primary cargo gateway between Africa, the Gulf, and Central Asia. However, whether SolitAir reaches its 20-aircraft target by 2027 will determine its pricing power along key Gulf–West Africa trade corridors — and that milestone deserves close attention from logistics investors and exporters alike.

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