BA World Cargo opened a new freighter route from Prestwick (PIK) airport to the US cities of Atlanta, Chicago and Houston earlier this month.
The new service has been introduced due to growing demand for timely airlift amid a rise in export volumes of heavy manufacturing goods, including oil well equipment and engine parts, from the carrier's customers in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the North of England.
BA World Cargo now offers two weekly flights to Atlanta and a weekly flight to Chicago and Houston from Prestwick, a town located on the west coast of Scotland.
"Heavy goods manufacturing now makes up a significant proportion of our customers' exports from the area and we've worked closely with them to develop this new route which gives them greater flexibility in terms of later cut off times," said Chris Bosworth, general manager of commercial development at BA World Cargo.
The oil well business out of Aberdeen in Scotland destined for Houston in particular, is expected to make up a significant proportion of the carrier's cargo. This along with Rolls Royce aeronautical engineering equipment out of Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is destined for Canada, a company statement added.