Cargolux Diversifies, Invests €72m into New Firefighting Unit

On Friday 12 January 2024, Cargolux unveiled its new business unit, Aquarius Aerial Firefighting, at a press conference in Sandweiler.

Richard Forson, Cargolux CEO, confirmed the formal announcement of the setting up of the new business unit, revealing that it has always been an ambition of his to be able to fight fires.

He provided a background by explaining that wildfire seasons are lengthening in duration and are happening in more locations worldwide, including across Europe. In 2021, wildfires emitted 1.76 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2021, 1.46 billion tonnes in 2022 and 2.1 billion tonnes in 2022. Against that, the total aviation industry produced 1.04 billion tones of CO2 in 2019. As a result, the focus now is on preventing or attacking such fires early, before they get out of control.

He also highlighted a considerable lack of aerial firefighting capacity and an ever-increasing need in Europe and worldwide. By fighting wildfires, Cargolux aims to contribute directly to CO2 reduction in line with its social and environmental sustainability goals.

On the specific aircraft acquired and on order, he explained that the Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss offers three hours of firefighting between refuelling; it has a short take-off distance and has a response time of as little as five minutes (to become airborne). It is a very rugged and efficient aircraft and scooping at a water source refills a tank in around fifteen seconds. Also, the aircraft can work in groups.

He confirmed that this is the first diversification for Cargolux in its 53-year history. He stated that Cargolux plans to be ready for deployment by May this year when "the risk of fires starts growing". Captain Wieger Kettelapper will head up the operation, supported by Michael Neuhuber, both currently flying Boeing 747s at Cargolux and undergoing training to be qualified to pilot these planes.

When asked by Chronicle.lu, he confirmed that two pilots are required per aircraft, working two weeks on, two weeks off. He also mentioned that subject-matter experts will be brought in to grow the business. Mechanics will also be based with the aircraft.

He also confirmed that the supply of pilots will not adversely affect the main business; rather, the summer months are traditionally quieter in the air freight business and the new business unit would therefore complement existing work.

Asked by Chronicle.lu about the business model, he initially stated "a lot of investment" and that a lot of time has been spent to ensure that they will get a return on their investment. When pressed on this issue, he confirmed that they will be paid a standby / availability fee (by the day) and they will also get paid a firefighting fee (by the hour) while on specific missions.

He also revealed that Cargolux is a sub-contractor as a tender in Europe for NSPA, the results of which are expected in the coming weeks.

He confirmed that Cargolux has an approved budget of €72 million which will cover the cost of the entire project which includes the first twelve aircraft, all new, as well as setup costs and ancillary equipment such as a flight simulator. He also revealed that the planes are expected to be based in southern Europe; while not in service, they will be based in hangars at Zweibrucken in Germany.

The first three Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss aircraft have now been delivered to Cargolux, with the remaining nine "by 2025", year three of the project. Richard Forson also confirmed that he hopes that the fleet will grow in size as the business grows.