On March 9th, 2026, at 04:53 local time, the first regular flight of an Embraer E-Freighter, the cargo version of the Embraer 190, took off from Cologne. This service was operated by Bridges Air Cargo, a European cargo airline founded in 1989, which began operations in 1990 and is based in the United Kingdom.

The aircraft in question is 16 years old, having entered service in June 2010 for TACA, a historic Latin American airline that was acquired by Avianca. With the registration number N986TA, it arrived in San Salvador brand new from São José dos Campos, Embraer’s main facilities in Brazil and around the world, and operated for the airline until May 2019. 

Embraer E-Freighter

In March 2022, Embraer confirmed the launch of its cargo conversion program for Embraer aircraft originally configured for passenger flights, including the Embraer 190 and Embraer 195. The manufacturer planned to start this program in early 2024, continuing as planned.

The first aircraft converted by Embraer at its facilities in São José dos Campos was the Embraer 190 with serial number 19000360, which became the E-Freighter Demonstrator. It operated its first flight as a cargo aircraft on April 5th, 2024, retaining its registration N986TA.

The first E190F

Its first international flight was on July 14th, 2024, beginning with a short visit to Fort Lauderdale, where its first photo was uploaded to JetPhotos. Two days later, after returning to Brazil, the aircraft departed for the first time to Europe in order to participate in the 2024 Farnborough Air Show.

At 21:32 local time on July 17th, 2024, the Embraer E190AR(F) arrived in Farnborough from Fort Lauderdale via Bridgetown, Natal, and Espargos. The E-Freighter remained in the United Kingdom until July 25th, 2024, returning to Brazil on August 6th, following visits to Memphis, Toluca, and Cartagena.

For the next year, the converted cargo plane made several flights within Brazil, as well as to the United States. It bid farewell to Brazil on July 31st, 2025, when it departed for Europe to deliver the Embraer E-Freighter to its launch customer.

Delivery to Europe

Already bearing the Bridges Air Cargo livery, the E190F took off from São José dos Campos on July 31st, 2025, at 13:11 local time, bound for Maastricht (Netherlands), landing there on August 1st at 21:07 local time after making stops in Recife, Espargos, and Gran Canaria.

By mid-2025, Embraer had confirmed Bridges Air Cargo as the launch customer for the Embraer E-Freighter, with regular flights scheduled to begin later that year. However, due to different circumstances, the first regular flight was delayed until operations finally commenced on March 9th, 2026.

First regular flight

Covering flight 5B140, Bridges’ Embraer E190AR(F), now registered as 9H-BRD, departed Cologne for Larnaca, arriving in Cyprus at 09:27 local time. This marked the beginning of a new era for Embraer, as its first Embraer 190 converted from passenger to cargo service was put into operation.

According to our database, Bridges Air Cargo will operate, at least for the time being, the Cologne – Larnaca route and vice versa on a daily basis, departing from the German city at 04:25 local time and from the Cypriot island in the Mediterranean Sea at 21:25 local time. The Cologne – Larnaca leg averages three and a half hours, and the Larnaca – Cologne segment takes four hours.

These Embraer 190 Freighters have a maximum capacity of 13 tons, enabling a network solution for the 8-12 ton Express Industry market. The airline plans to continue operating its Embraer aircraft within Europe, as well as to launch flights to the Middle East and Africa in the future.

Bridges’ fleet

Until January 2026, prior to the introduction of the Embraer E-Freighter, Bridges Air Cargo had an ATR 72-200(F) in its fleet, belonging to the Spanish cargo airline Swiftair. It usually operated some routes from Cologne, all within Europe, including the Madrid – Casablanca – Madrid route. After it stopped flying for Bridges, the turboprop has been parked at Madrid Barajas since January 31st.

A second E-Freighter

With regard to its future fleet, Bridges Air Cargo plans to add a second Embraer E-Freighter, which has also been converted into a freighter in São José dos Campos, in this case between September 2023 and October 2025. The aircraft retains the registration number of its previous operator (N988TA), whose history is similar to that of Bridges’ first Embraer E-Freighter.

In December 2010, TACA incorporated the Embraer 190 with registry N988TA, beginning operations in 2011 following its arrival brand new from Brazil. TACA was renamed Avianca El Salvador in 2013, continuing to operate with the carrier until June 2019, when Avianca retired most of its Embraer aircraft. After being parked for almost four years in Macon, at the end of 2023, the E190 was chosen by Embraer to join the Embraer E-Freighter program.

Its first flight after conversion took place on October 20th, 2025, operating between São José dos Campos and Belo Horizonte. By mid-November 2025, it departed for Dubai to participate in the Dubai Airshow 2025, where it remained from November 14th to the 21st. Since then, it has been in Bratislava (Slovakia), awaiting entry into service for Bridges Air Cargo.

Cover photo: © R. Bexten – JetPhotos (Maastricht, Netherlands)