Emirates SkyCargo launches AI Tech to fly server racks, chips and GPUs

Emirates SkyCargo has a new product for companies building out artificial intelligence. AI Tech is designed to move critical and sensitive AI infrastructure safely and on time, the cargo arm of Emirates said in a press release.

It is built for capital equipment and other critical hardware as well as server racks. The service adds priority loading and scheduling, specialised handling and shipment monitoring from the airline’s command centre in Dubai. Emirates SkyCargo says the aim is to keep customers’ deployment schedules on track.

“Behind every AI breakthrough is physical infrastructure that needs to arrive safely and on time,” said Badr Abbas, divisional senior vice president at Emirates SkyCargo.

“In July alone, we transported more than 700 tonnes of AI infrastructure across our global network, and demand has continued to grow,” Abbas said.

He said the airline wants to become “the carrier of choice” for companies across the AI ecosystem.

What the service includes

AI Tech uses the same handling procedures at every airport. They keep equipment the right way up and cut the risk of damage. Time-critical deployments get priority loading.

Customers get airport-to-airport tracking, with milestone updates watched from the Dubai command centre. Staff keep in touch with customers throughout the journey. Oversized and heavy loads get specialist project cargo support.

The service is open across the airline’s network for most AI cargo, including chips and server racks. For highly specialised manufacturing equipment, Emirates SkyCargo checks each station’s capabilities before the shipment.

More freighters by March 2027

By March 2027, Emirates SkyCargo will fly 23 dedicated freighters. Their main decks can take tall, dense server racks, which often weigh more than 3.5 tonnes. The airline’s website lists 12 dedicated freighters today, alongside more than 260 wide-body aircraft.

The airline also carries cargo on its wide-body passenger aircraft. It flies to more than 270 destinations in 83 countries and territories.

Server racks are the hardware that makers such as Supermicro build around Nvidia GPUs and other AI chips. Big Tech has committed more than $3 trillion to the AI build-out. In Emirates’ home country, the UAE is splitting up its $30bn AI data centre after Iran named it as a target.