On May 25, a B767 all-cargo aircraft carrying 50 tons of cargo took off from Haikou Meilan International Airport in China's southern Hainan Province, stopped in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and then flew on to Tel Aviv, the largest metropolitan area in Israel, marking the official opening of the Haikou-Tbilisi-Tel Aviv cargo route and adding another connection to the growing international air cargo network of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP).

The newly launched route is operated by Georgian Airways and will feature once weekly flights on Sundays, mainly carrying e-commerce products and general cargo. Thanks to the Hainan FTP’s Sixth Freedom of the Air* policy, Tbilisi serves as a pivot point on the new air cargo channel between Hainan and Israel. The route offers an efficient connection between the freight markets of China, Georgia, and Israel while also creating a convenient cooperation platform for cross-border trade, industry collaboration, and supply chain optimization, which together play an important role in promoting the coordinated development of the regional economy.

Since the beginning of 2025, Haikou’s Meilan International Airport has offered two international cargo routes, Haikou ⇌Paris and Tbilisi-Haikou-Milan, connecting three international cargo destinations and establishing an international cargo route network radiating out from Haikou to Europe, West Asia, and other regions of the globe. As of May 24, the airport’s year to date international cargo and mail throughput had reached a total of 7,834 tons, a year-on-year increase of 23%.

*Translator’s note: The Sixth Freedom of the Air (also known as a Sixth Freedom Right) refers to the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled international air services, of transporting, via the home State of the carrier, traffic moving between two other States.