MSC appears to be interested in taking over the cargo-only airline AlisCargo, According to Corriere della Sera. there is a due-diligence between the two companies.
What interests Gian Luigi Aponte’s group is, above all, AlisCargo’s Air Operator Certificate (AOC) which has been suspended since 27th December due to lack of aircraft. Likewise, MSc is apparently keen to acquire the know-how and human capital of the carrier founded in 2021 by Domenico Alcide Leali, former patron of Air Dolomiti.
MSC is not the first big carrier to invest in air freight. Maersk, for example, set up Maersk Cargo, while CMA CGM, already a shareholder of Air France-KLM, founded its own airline, CMA CGM Cargo, in 2021 with a fleet of six aircraft.
With this move, the Italian-Swiss carrier aims to further strengthen MSCAir Cargo, launched in 2022 and already up and running, with a Boeing 777 Freighter operated by US company Atlas Air. This year, MSC Air Cargo’s fleet will total five aircraft, thanks to the acquisition of four planes.
Translation by Giles Foster