The Haikou - Vienna - Bournemouth international cargo flight. (Photo: Mao Zehao)

In the early hours of May 8, an Airbus A340-600 cargo plane loaded with clothing and other cross-border e-commerce products took off from Haikou’s Meilan International Airport. This was the first flight of the newly opened Haikou - Vienna - Bournemouth intercontinental cargo route.

The newly opened British European Cargo operated route departs Haikou twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays, mainly carrying e-commerce cargo. After a stopover in Vienna, the capital of Austria, it continues on to Bournemouth, England, providing efficient transportation for goods circulating between these three trade hubs.

Staff inventory cargo. (Photo by Meilan International Airport)

Four cargo routes are currently operating out of Meilan Airport: Haikou - Vienna - Bournemouth, Haikou - Bournemouth, Incheon - Haikou - Singapore, and Haikou - Paris, connecting five international cargo destinations and creating the beginnings of an international cargo route network radiating out from Haikou to Europe, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and other parts of the world. As of May 6, Meilan International Airport’s 2024 international cargo and mail throughput had reached a total of 5,150 tons, a year-on-year increase of 133%.