China opens air cargo routes from Zhengzhou to DHL’s UK hub and from Hefei to India

A Zhongyuan Longhao Airlines Boeing 747-400F took off from Zhengzhou, Henan, on November 2 bound for East Midlands Airport in the UK, launching a direct freighter route, China News Service reported. East Midlands is DHL’s UK national hub, near Derby, Nottingham and Leicester; cargo can be redistributed across the UK and Europe. Return flights are expected to carry European goods for Henan importers.

Zhongyuan Longhao, a Henan-based cargo carrier, already flies from Zhengzhou to Frankfurt, Brussels, Budapest and Liège. Its own Budapest and Liège routes have logged nearly 600 flights and more than 70,000 tonnes.

The next day, November 3, an aircraft carrying 53 tonnes took off from Hefei, Anhui, for the new Navi Mumbai International Airport in India, Hefei’s first freighter route to South Asia. Four to five flights a week are planned, carrying high-value electronics, circuit boards and textiles.

CSP take: Henan and Anhui host many electronics plants and are building their own air outlets. For importers sourcing electronics from these provinces, direct routes can cut time to an international hub; ask your forwarder about connections from these cities. This reading is ours, not the source’s.