Airport cargo turnover up 21.3%
International cargo, mail and parcel turnover at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport increased by 21.3% year on year between January and September, ranking third among major airports in China.
On Sept. 30, a Boeing 777F flight carrying 93 tons of cargo headed to Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, marking the airport’s sixth international cargo route put into use this year. The route is jointly operated by Central Airlines and YunExpress twice a week and will be intensified to thrice a week later in October.
International cargoes are loaded onto a plane at the Shenzhen airport in this file photo. Sznews.com
“We put our first wide-body aircraft into the Shenzhen market and will enhance operation in the city by opening a Shenzhen-Paris route next year,” Cao Bo, president of Central Airlines, said during an interview.
Saudi Arabia, one of the Belt and Road countries, is China’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East. Its capital Riyadh is an important transport hub in the region, and Saudi Arabia’s e-commerce sector has just started unleashing its great potential. E-commerce businesses in Shenzhen and its neighboring cities, especially for products such as household appliances and garments, can reach the Middle East market via Riyadh.
Earlier this year, the Shenzhen airport opened five new international cargo routes with Hanoi, Doha, Leipzig, New York and Bangalore, bringing the total international cargo destinations to 35 cities in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. It also intensified flights on routes to eight cities including Los Angeles, Ho Chi Minh City, Osaka, Seoul and Istanbul.
In recent years, the airport has been building a cross-border e-commerce hub for parcels and mails through partnership with logistics companies such as SF Express, DHL, YunExpress and Cainiao. In 2022, the airport authority initiated planning and construction of eight logistics projects including the DHL South China mail hub project at a total investment of 5 billion yuan (US$704 million).