ALIBABA’S logistics affiliate Cainiao, in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, on Sunday launched a freighter flight from Shenzhen to Africa with a stop in the Middle East.

    This is the first regular intercontinental cargo route between Shenzhen and Africa. So far, there have been regular cargo flights in service from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport to five continents, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.

    On Sunday morning, a Boeing 777 operated by Ethiopian Airlines took off from Shenzhen with around 100 tons of cargo. After a stopover in Dubai, it will have arrived in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, marking the opening of the brand-new Shenzhen-Dubai-Addis Ababa freight route.

    The flight now operates twice a week and the frequency of the flight will be increased according to the cargo transport demand, according to Teklehaimanot G. Yohannes Gebreyessus, chief representative for Ethiopian Airlines China.

    He said through cooperation with Chinese companies, Ethiopian Airlines hopes to promote trade, investment and tourism between China and Africa.

    Tilahun Alemayehu, general manager of the South China region of Ethiopian Airlines, said Shenzhen is one of China’s technological innovation, commercial and logistics hubs.

    The airline has established a long-term strategic relationship with Cainiao. The opening of this new route will further promote the transportation of anti-epidemic materials worldwide.

    Zhao Jian, general manager of Cainiao Global, said the flight will improve the logistics transport availability of Cainiao and its presence in the African market.

    This is the second intercontinental cargo route Shenzhen has opened in a week, following the opening of a regular cargo flight from Shenzhen to Luxembourg in Europe on Friday. 

    So far this year, Shenzhen has boasted regular cargo routes to 21 cities.

    Between January and August, the Shenzhen airport handled 857,000 tons of packages, an increase of 6.4 percent year on year, ranking No. 3 among Chinese cities. Its throughput of international cargo has maintained a growth rate of more than 30 percent in four straight months.

    Since March, airline companies from over 70 countries have sent more than 2,100 flights to Shenzhen to load nearly 50,000 tons of cargo and transported them to more than 40 countries.

    Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s largest airline. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it operated 35 passenger flights per week between Ethiopia and five Chinese cities, carrying more than 500,000 passengers annually.

    (Han Ximin)