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Challenge Airlines IL,[1] formerly CAL Cargo Airlines Ltd. (Hebrew: ק.א.ל. קווי אוויר למטען), is a cargo airline with its corporate headquarters in Shoham, Israel.
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| Founded | 1976 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | |||||||
| Fleet size | 1 | ||||||
| Destinations | 4 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel | ||||||
| Website | cal-cargo.com | ||||||
CAL was established in June 1976, starting charter operations in November of that year. Originally, the airline leased aircraft from El Al as required; however, on 1 December 1999, it began operating scheduled services using its own aircraft following receipt of Israeli government licences.
In 1997, CAL purchased the Liège Airport Cargo Handling Services (LACHS) cargo terminal in Belgium. The facility, which is still fully owned and operated by CAL, caters to CAL's specialty in nonstandard cargo. In 2010, CAL was purchased privately by Offer Gilboa and expanded its flight operations to include daily flights to and from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and New York's John F Kennedy International Airport.
In 2017, the airline made news headlines for buying a Boeing 747 on Chinese e-commerce website Taobao.com for around US$23.3 million.[citation needed]
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Challenge IL operates daily scheduled cargo flights and charter services carrying nonstandard goods and general cargo internationally. Its main base is Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and it has a hub at Liège Airport in Belgium. The airline carries approximately 100,000 tons of cargo annually, including all categories of nonstandard cargo: temperature-controlled pharmaceutical and healthcare products, live animals, dangerous goods, oversize and overweight cargo, fresh perishable products, and valuable goods such as fine art.[2] The company slogan is Challenge accepted.
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Challenge IL operates freight services to the following scheduled destinations (as of May 2024).
| Country | City | Airport | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Liège | Liège Airport | Hub | |
| China | Zhengzhou | Zhengzhou International Airport | ||
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Hong Kong International Airport | ||
| Norway | Oslo | Oslo Gardermoen Airport | ||
| Israel | Tel Aviv | Ben Gurion Airport | Hub |
Current fleet
The CAL Cargo Air Lines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of November 2024):[3][4][needs update]
| Aircraft | In fleet | Orders | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 747-400ERF | 1 | 0 | 4X-ICA |
| Boeing 747-400F | 1 | 0 | 4X-ICK |
| Boeing 767-300BDSF | 1 | 0 | 4X-IAJ |
| Total | 3 | 0 |
Retired fleet
| Aircraft | Total | Year introduced | Year retired | Replacement | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 707 | 1 | 1986 | 1987 | Boeing 747-200F | [5] | |
| Boeing 747-100F | 1 | 1993 | 1993 | None | Leased from Atlas Air | [6] |
| Boeing 747-200F | 4 | 1999 | 2017 | Boeing 747-400F | One aircraft was written off in a landing accident in Liège Airport. | [7][8][9] |
| Boeing 747-400BCF | 1 | 2016 | 2019 | None | Transferred to Challenge Airlines BE. | [citation needed] |
| Boeing 747-400ERF | 2 | 2019 | 2022 | None | Transferred to Challenge Airlines BE. | [citation needed] |
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