Central China airport annual cargo throughput tops 1 million tonnes

ZHENGZHOU, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in central China marked the milestone of handling one million tonnes of annual cargo and mail throughput on Sunday following the arrival of an all-cargo aircraft operated by Malaysia's Raya Airways.

This demonstrates the strong development momentum of the airport in Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan Province, as it aims to build itself into a leading global air cargo hub on the "Air Silk Road."

Data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China show that by 2024, only four Chinese civil airports, namely Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao'an and Beijing Capital, reported annual cargo and mail throughput of over 1 million tonnes.

In recent years, Henan has been actively developing the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg air cargo route as a dual-hub model to extend its reach, and it is seeking to replicate the model with other partners.

Zhang Mingchao, chairman of Zhongyu Aviation Group, which operates the Zhengzhou airport, said the airport will actively replicate the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg dual-hub model and deepen air logistics cooperation with countries including Malaysia, Ethiopia and Hungary to attract more airlines to open more routes.

Between 2021 and 2025, cargo and mail throughput at the Zhengzhou airport grew at an average annual rate of about 10 percent, reaching 825,000 tonnes in 2024.

The airport now has 70 all-cargo routes linking Zhengzhou with 73 cities in 32 countries. ■