Lufthansa Cargo’s Capacity Agreement with ITA Airways Takes off From Rome Fiumicino

Lufthansa Cargo has today announced that with the start of the winter schedule on October 26, 2025, cargo shipments with ITA Airways are now being transported under Lufthansa Cargo's own AWB number 020 on flights originating from Rome-Fiumicino.

Capacity Agreement Between Lufthansa Cargo and ITA Airways Takes off From Rome - Courtesy Lufthansa Cargo

On Monday (November 17, 2025), Lufthansa Cargo announced the start of the capacity agreement with ITA Airways from Rome.  With the start of the winter flight schedule on October 26, 2025, cargo shipments are now being transported under Lufthansa Cargo’s own AWB number 020 on flights originating in Rome-Fiumicino Airport.  Over the last two weeks, more than 1,000 tons of freight have already been transported in the cargo hold of ITA Airways’ passenger aircraft.  The cooperation between the two companies, which began in June on flights to Rome-Fiumicino Airport, is now nearly fully implemented.  Connections to/from the US and Canada are still currently excluded pending regulatory approval.

In Monday’s announcement, Lufthansa Cargo’s CEO, Ashwin Bhat, said,

“Lufthansa Cargo’s first cargo shipment connections from Rome are an important milestone in the expansion of our global network for our customers.  Our customers benefit not only from numerous new cargo connections around the world, but also from a powerful hub in southern Europe.  This makes our network the broadest in Europe and once again underlines our ambition to offer our customers even better transport solutions in line with our purpose ‘Enabling Global Business.’”

The Capacity Agreement Between Lufthansa Cargo and ITA Airways Takes off From Rome - Courtesy Lufthansa Cargo

With the addition of routes from Rome, Lufthansa Cargo expands their belly-hold capacity by around 20 percent.  Rome-Fiumicino will now serve as the carrier’s fifth European hub alongside Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, and Brussels.  Customers will benefit from expanded routing options and greater flexibility across Lufthansa Cargo's intercontinental network.  Effective immediately, up to 30 additional weekly cargo connections to South America (Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo), and up to 21 additional weekly flights to Asia (Bangkok, New Delhi, and Tokyo-Haneda) are available.

Additionally, seasonal connections from Rome to Mauritius and Malé are available, and up to 71 weekly connections are offered to/from North Africa (Algiers, Cairo, Accra, Dakar, and Tunis), and the Middle East (Dubai and Riyadh). Lufthansa Cargo’s new hub also expands their intra-European RFS and continental network, enabling closer connections to their existing hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Brussels and Vienna.

Lufthansa Cargo is one of the world’s leading cargo airlines and part of the Lufthansa Group, Europe’s largest airline group.  In 2024, the company generated revenues of 3.26 billion euros and a transport performance of 8.5 billion freight tonne-kilometers, and currently employs approximately 4,200 team members worldwide.  Through five cargo hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Brussels, Vienna and Rome, the carrier transports an average of 2,500 tons of freight per day across an airport-to-airport network that covers 350 destinations in over 100 countries.  Lufthansa Cargo markets the belly-hold cargo capacities Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines, ITA Airways and SunExpress, as well as its own dedicated freighter fleet of 18 Boeing 777F and four Airbus A321F.  Additionally, around 300 trucks operate daily under a Lufthansa Cargo flight number. Together with its subsidiaries, Lufthansa Cargo offers customized, fast and efficient logistics solutions along the entire supply chain.

Source: Lufthansa Cargo/Mynewsdesk