Freight forwarder and logistics company DB Schenker has launched an air route between Ezhou in central China and Frankfurt, Germany.
The inaugural flight was operated on January 7 by a Boeing 777 freighter.
The regular cargo route will be operated by Etihad Cargo, departing from Ezhou every Tuesday, with a stopover in Abu Dhabi before arriving in Frankfurt the following day. Cargo carried is expected to include e-commerce, electronics, industrial goods, and automotive parts with an estimated annual volume of 5,200 tons.
The first dedicated cargo hub airport in Asia, Ezhou Huahu International, opened in July 2022 now operates 30 international and 53 domestic cargo routes and had the fastest growth in China in 2024. This brought it to fifth place for cargo nationwide, with a cumulative volume exceeding 1.2 million tons.
The airport is 75km from Wuhan, and within a 1.5-hour flight radius of five major urban region, including the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions. It sits on a multimodal network including three main rail lines, seven highways, and five deep-water ports.
It is also developing industry clusters, including aviation logistics, healthcare, intelligent manufacturing, and electronic information.