Hinduja Cargo Services

Defunct airline

IATA	ICAO	Callsign
LF	LCI	LUFTHANSA INDIA

Founded

April 1996

Ceased operations

August 2000

Hubs

Indira Gandhi International Airport

Fleet size

Parent company

Hinduja Group (60%)
Lufthansa Cargo (40%)

Headquarters

New Delhi, India

Hinduja Cargo Services (legally Lufthansa Cargo India PVT. Limited) was a cargo airline based in New Delhi, India.^[1] It was a joint venture between the Hinduja Group and German airline Lufthansa Cargo. The company operated a fleet of Boeing 727 freighters, flying from airports in the Indian subcontinent to feed Lufthansa Cargo's hub in the Middle East.

History

Before 1996, Lufthansa Cargo was operating Douglas DC-8 aircraft between Germany and several Indian cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, as well as a cargo hub at Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. To increase capacity, Hinduja Cargo Services was formed in April 1996 through a partnership with the Hinduja Group; Hinduja owned a 60% share, with Lufthansa taking the remaining 40%. Two Boeing 727-200F freighters were acquired to replace the DC-8 routes, rising to five aircraft in October 1996.

Lufthansa Cargo suspended its agreement with the Hinduja Group in April 2000, citing higher-than-expected demand which could be better met with direct flights from Frankfurt.^[2] The airline was consequently closed by Hinduja in 2001.^[3]

Accident

On 7 July 1999, a Boeing 727-243F operating as Lufthansa Cargo Flight 8533 crashed into a hill after takeoff from Kathmandu, Nepal. All five crew died in the crash.^[4]^[5]

References

^ "Hinduja Cargo Services". ch-aviation. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
^ "Lufthansa Cargo drops Hinduja link". FlightGlobal. 4 April 2000. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
^ "Hindujas revive interest in aviation business". The Times of India. 15 August 2005. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
^ "ASN Aircraft incident Boeing 727-243F VT-LCI Kathmandu". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
^ "No survivors in Nepal plane crash". BBC News. 8 July 1999. Retrieved 19 July 2020.