In the airport economic zone of the capital city, air cargo enterprises have made a prosperous start, with a thriving scene. On the apron of the Capital Airport, boxes of goods are neatly stacked and transported by trailer to the cargo plane of China International Cargo Airlines Co., Ltd. in an orderly manner. The staff are working together to quickly transport the goods onto the plane and ensure timely delivery.
This is an ordinary night in the cargo operation area of the capital airport, and also a microcosm of the busy start of China's air cargo industry in 2025. As an important channel connecting production and consumption, the aviation logistics industry has developed rapidly in recent years, and the demand for air cargo market has been increasing year by year, becoming an important part of the global logistics supply chain. With the gradual recovery of the global economy, the vigorous development of cross-border e-commerce, and the promotion of domestic consumption upgrading, the demand for China's air cargo market has significantly increased.
Taking Air China as an example, currently it operates 24 cargo routes, including 5 domestic routes, 18 international routes, and 1 regional route, serving 8 countries and 21 cities. It has established a global cargo security system and can provide customers with high-quality services.
In January 2025, our actual business situation was even better than expected. We introduced 2 cargo planes, expanded our fleet, and laid a good foundation for this year's smooth operation. "Zhang Bo, Deputy General Manager of the Sales Department of Air China Cargo, said," We also made a good start in high-end transportation. In early January this year, we achieved large-scale horse transportation, which was the earliest in history. "Zhang Bo revealed that Air China Cargo has formed a variety of product systems such as express, safe, fresh, Junyun, special, precious, standard, and mail, which can meet the diverse needs of customers.
The busy scene can also be seen everywhere in the card shift operation center of Sinotrans Air Transport Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch located in the Capital Airport Economic Zone. As the truck entered, the staff drove forklifts back and forth to unload the goods, creating a busy scene. These goods are then sorted, labeled, stored, and transferred by staff... Every day, dozens of trucks come and go, and the goods are transported here, and then transported from here to the destination.
The reporter learned that in January of this year, the air throughput of Sinotrans Air Transport Co., Ltd. reached 4063 tons, a year-on-year increase of 3%. The export operation time per ticket was shortened to 4-6 hours, and customer satisfaction increased to 97%.
To ensure a good start to the first quarter, we have digitally upgraded the card shift operation center, with a distribution volume of 2126 tons and a shortened sorting time to half an hour per ticket. The export direct transfer of goods has increased by 28% compared to the previous quarter, and the transit clearance time has been shortened by 8 hours. "Lu Mingming, Deputy Manager of Jiahang Business Department of Sinotrans Air Transport Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch, introduced that this year, the company will also optimize the dual hub operation, expand the two-way distribution business, promote the official landing of the 9610 e-commerce export one-stop solution in the second quarter, deepen the digital construction of ports, and improve overall operational efficiency.
The hot start of air cargo transportation is also unfolding at Zhengzhou Airport, 700 kilometers away. Here, recent new routes have also been intensively opened, and the international freight layout is more profound.
On February 16th, a ONE AIR Airlines B747 cargo plane loaded with 95 tons of e-commerce goods departed from Zhengzhou Airport on time and flew to the Spanish capital Madrid, marking the official opening of the Zhengzhou Madrid international scheduled cargo route. On February 18th, ONE AIR Airlines also opened its second international scheduled cargo route from Zhengzhou to Liege, Belgium.
The newly opened Zhengzhou to Madrid international regular cargo route is the first direct international cargo route from Zhengzhou Airport to Spain, building an air logistics channel for trade exchanges between central China and the Southern European Economic Zone, and promoting the "Air Silk Road" to reach new heights. The route plans to operate 2 flights per week, mainly transporting cross-border e-commerce goods.
Capital Airlines is also accelerating its layout in Zhengzhou. On February 17th and 18th, two A330 all cargo planes managed and operated by Capital Airlines opened two international cargo routes from Zhengzhou to Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Oslo (Norway) for the first time in Zhengzhou. This will further facilitate the air logistics corridor between central China, Southeast Asia, and Europe, while improving the global cargo route network of Zhengzhou Airport.
It is reported that in 2025, Capital Airlines will seize the opportunity of cross-border e-commerce exports, actively expand its cargo business, and provide international logistics services that are compatible with international e-commerce platforms. With the support of a strong domestic route network and flight belly cargo transfer, it will fully leverage the role of air cargo in stabilizing the industrial chain and ensuring the supply chain. In the future, it will operate four A330 full cargo capacity aircraft, with an expected annual cargo transportation volume of 25000 tons.
The power of 'goods' is still burning. The reporter learned that in order to further weave the "Air Silk Road" route network, Zhengzhou Airport will gradually increase the number of international cargo routes from Zhengzhou to Istanbul, Tashkent and other cities, accelerating the development level of Zhengzhou's aviation hub.
The opening of new international routes directly adds momentum to the growth of China's international air cargo. According to data released by China International Federation of Trade Unions, in January of this year, a total of 27 new international freight routes were opened nationwide, with an increase of over 43 round-trip flights per week. From the perspective of route structure, there are 15 routes in Europe, 10 routes in Asia, and 1 route each in South America and Africa. The goods mainly include cross-border e-commerce goods, electronic products, automotive parts, industrial products, etc.
Behind the full power of 'goods', challenges also follow one after another. Industry experts have stated that currently, due to factors such as global geopolitical tensions, tariff adjustments, tightening of minimum duty-free measures for cross-border e-commerce goods, and an unstable foundation for global trade recovery, the global supply chain pattern will become more diversified by 2025, and the aviation logistics network will inevitably be restructured. The development of China's air cargo industry is facing significant pressure.
Overall, air cargo transportation is expected to maintain a growth trend in 2025. Looking at the world, Willie Walsh, President of the International Air Transport Association, stated that "economic fundamentals indicate that air cargo may usher in another good year - oil prices are on a downward trend and trade continues to grow. However, there is no doubt that the air cargo industry will face challenges from geopolitical changes. It is expected that the global air cargo growth rate will slow down to 5.8% by 2025, consistent with historical levels.
As for the Chinese market, experts predict that with the continuous improvement of infrastructure, the continuous promotion of technological innovation, and the deepening of international cooperation, China's international air cargo will occupy a more important position in the global logistics supply chain, and growth is expected by 2025.
Source: International Business Daily
