Dubai / Tokyo — Emirates SkyCargo, the air freight division of Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates, is set to launch scheduled freighter flights to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT) in May 2025. This new route will mark the first nonstop, scheduled freighter connection between Narita and the Middle East, further strengthening Emirates’ position in the global cargo market.
The announcement, first reported by Air Cargo News, represents a strategic expansion of Emirates SkyCargo’s reach in East Asia. With the addition of Narita, the carrier will now serve 38 dedicated freighter destinations worldwide.
The new link will complement Emirates’ existing passenger services to Narita, which currently provide cargo capacity in the aircraft bellyhold. The addition of freighter aircraft is expected to boost cargo capacity by 100 tonnes per direction, significantly enhancing the transport of high-value goods such as automobile components, machinery, semiconductors, and pharmaceutical products.
Narita is already Japan’s leading cargo airport by freight value processed, and with ongoing investments under the “New Narita Airport” Development Plan, it is poised to become a key logistics hub in the region by the end of the decade.
Route Details and Capacity
The new service, operated by Boeing 777F freighters, will begin on May 23, 2025, with flight EK9413 departing Dubai at 18:55 local time and arriving at Narita at 10:00 local time the following day. The return flight, EK9414, is scheduled to depart Tokyo at 12:00 LT and arrive back in Dubai at 18:30 LT on the same day.
This development brings Emirates’ total dedicated freighter frequency to three weekly flights into Japan, alongside existing twice-weekly freighter services to Osaka Kansai International Airport (KIX). Altogether, Emirates will offer 300 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity in each direction to and from Japan.
Strategic Expansion
The move is part of Emirates SkyCargo’s long-term vision to expand its global footprint, powered by its growing fleet of next-generation Boeing 777 freighters.
“Expanding our dedicated freighter network is a key priority on our 10-year strategic roadmap,” said Badr Abbas, Divisional Senior Vice President at Emirates SkyCargo. “Now, as we start to receive our all-new Boeing 777 freighters, we can reach new markets with enhanced capacity.”
He added, “Demand for our world-class product and services has been steadily growing in Narita, particularly for pharmaceuticals and consumer electronics, transported in the bellyhold of our daily passenger flight. Larger or irregularly shaped cargo, like machinery parts, has historically been routed via KIX. The deployment of this freighter empowers us to better support our global customers with direct connectivity to and through Dubai, while growing our operations in Japan.”
Looking Ahead
Emirates SkyCargo currently operates 57 dedicated freighter flights per week, in addition to over 290 passenger flights weekly that provide additional cargo capacity. The company is also eyeing further expansion in the region with upcoming passenger routes to Siem Reap (Cambodia), Da Nang (Vietnam), and Shenzhen (China).
As Emirates SkyCargo continues to expand its footprint and capacity across Asia, the launch of freighter services to Tokyo Narita signals a firm commitment to enhancing logistics efficiency and meeting growing demand in one of the world’s most important manufacturing and technology hubs.