Chinese authorities and airfreight operators have constantly improved their services to promote the efficiency of air logistics for cross-border e-commerce platforms, an industry embracing a robust overseas demand.
A surge in e-commerce orders from France during the Paris 2024 Olympics has also created a strong demand in China’s air logistics. China Southern Air Logistics Company has seen a 65 percent increase year on year in cargo volume from its Guangzhou international cargo terminal to Paris since the start of June.
“We made a plan to ensure the smooth operation of logistics during peak export period. We have improved and optimized the transportation flow, reduced the waiting time for goods at the warehouse and accelerated the movement of cargo, thus increasing the efficiency of operations and services,” said Wang Fuhong, party branch secretary of the cargo terminal.
According to International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) analysis, 20 percent of total global air freight comes from cross-border e-commerce orders at present, and this percentage is expected to grow to 30 percent by 2027.
Cui Zhongfu, vice president of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, told China Central Televition (CCTV) that China’s major e-commerce products are suitable for air transportation.
“We are now exporting a lot of electronic products, light industrial products, especially on the cross-border e-commerce platform, where products mainly in these categories are in high demand in foreign markets, and it just so happens that this category of products is particularly suitable for air freight,” he said.
Shang Kejia, deputy director of the transportation sector of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said the administration will take a series of measures to promote the high-quality development of the air cargo industry.
“In view of the current needs of cross-border e-commerce development in aviation logistics , we will further simplify and optimize the approval procedures, and support airlines in converting all overtime charter flights with long-term operational needs into scheduled flights. We will also strengthen the monitoring of the use of air traffic rights to improve the utilization of airlines’ resources,” she said.