Malta’s Bridges Air Cargo has taken delivery of its first Embraer E-Freighter, and the world’s first example of the E190F.
The Luqa-based cargo carrier showed off the delivery via a 22 August LinkedIn post, calling the E190F the “first of its kind in the aviation world”. Bridges is currently inducting the aircraft but does not specify when it will enter revenue service.
Flying under registration number 9H-BRD, the E190F rolled off Embraer’s production line 2010 and was originally operated by Avianca El Salvador, according to Cirium fleets data.
Bridges says the E190F will be joined by a second example “soon” as part of the carrier’s expansion plans.
“We are committed to building a dynamic, modern fleet to meet the evolving needs of our partners across Europe and beyond,” the carrier says.
Embraer named Bridges as the launch carrier for the E190F at the Paris air show in June. Bridges also doubled its commitment for the type from two to four aircraft in Le Bourget.
Arjan Meijer, chief executive of Embraer Commercial Aviation, says that the Brazilian airframer is pleased to introduce Bridges as the first E190F operator.
Serving the express delivery market, Bridges operates in Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa, including with an ATR 72 Freighter on regional cargo-carrying missions. It is based on the Mediterranean island of Malta, located south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.
The carrier has ambitions of becoming ”the premier air cargo carrier for Malta, transforming the island into a key hub for express and cargo operations in the Mediterranean and onwards into Africa”.
Embraer’s P2F programme launched in 2022, covering E190s and E195 conversions, seeking to capitalise on e-commerce-driven demand for fast deliveries and extend the lives of its aged passenger jets.
The E190F will have a payload of 10,700kg (23,600lb), while the E195F will have a payload of 12,300kg.
