CHINA’S air cargo industry has been making constant progress and unleashing potential for industry players at home and abroad. Airlines, airports and other players in the industry are making intensive moves by expanding freighter fleets, launching new routes, adding infrastructure, enhancing operation efficiency and more. SF Airlines, China’s largest cargo airline in terms of fleet size, has taken a major step toward its target to become a world-class large-scale cargo carrier by expanding its fleet to 86 freighters. Headquartered in Shenzhen, SF Airlines is the aviation branch of China’s leading courier firm SF Express. The fleet enables the company to expand its air-route network and speed up the delivery of goods with time-sensitive requirements. The air cargo sector plays an important role in stabilizing the industrial and supply chains. China’s civil air transport industry maintained a good momentum of recovery. In August, its transport turnover was 11.61 billion ton-kilometers, an 87.4% year-on-year increase, marking the scale of China’s air transport has exceeded the level of 2019 for two consecutive months, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The industry handled 636,000 tons of air cargo in August, up 1.1% from August 2019, according to statistics from the CAAC. Major industry players at home and abroad are generating power from the dynamic air cargo sector sustained by recovering air transport. The throughput of the Ezhou Huahu Airport exceeded 100,000 tons in mid-October. It marked a major step forward for the airport, which has been increasing air routes and adding new infrastructures, said the airport. Starting operation in July 2022, the Ezhou airport is China’s first cargo-focused airport. Targeting to become a world-class air cargo hub, the airport will constantly enhance its cargo-handling capacity and operation efficiency, the airport added. (Xinhua) | 