• East Midlands Airport has welcomed a new cargo airline for its first arrival as a new connection with China is established.
• Central China Longhao Airlines’ first Boeing 747-400 freighter touched down at East Midlands yesterday, 2nd November, from Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport.
• The cargo airline is starting twice-weekly flights on the route, adding to the growing list of cargo operators choosing East Midlands as their gateway to the UK market.

East Midlands Airport has welcomed a new cargo airline for its first arrival as a new connection with China is established.

Central China Longhao Airlines’ first Boeing 747-400 freighter touched down at East Midlands yesterday (November 2) from Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport.

The cargo airline is starting twice-weekly flights on the route, adding to the growing list of cargo operators choosing East Midlands as their gateway to the UK market.

China Central Longhao Airlines was restructured and established by Henan Civil Aviation Development & Investment Group in 2019. As a state-owned airline and the main base airline in Henan Province, it played a key role in the construction of Zhengzhou international air cargo hub, and operates its fleet throughout Asia and into Europe.

The airline’s first route to the UK comes after East Midlands Airport recorded a 6.3 percent (36,000 tonnes) increase in cargo volumes compared to last September.

The airport has recently advertised for a new Head of Cargo Development as the operation goes from strength to strength and long-term growth plans are put into action.

“We’re really pleased to welcome Central China Langhao as a new airline operating to East Midlands as its gateway into the UK. Longhao’s decision to start operations here provides further evidence of the airport’s growing strength and reputation within the rapidly evolving Chinese air cargo market. We are continuing to attract more cargo operators, who understand that our great central location and available capacity helped by a 24/7 operation together make us an unbeatable proposition in the UK,” East Midlands Airport’s Commercial Director Adam Andrews said.

The new Head of Cargo Development role will be responsible for developing cargo growth opportunities at East Midlands Airport, supporting an increase from 400,000 tonnes in exports and imports to 500,000 tonnes by 2030, with a corresponding income rise of £10m.

According to the airport this role will involve building strategic relationships across logistics, e-commerce, manufacturing, freight forwarding and trade body networks to develop market insight and commercial business cases, and strengthen the East Midlands cargo community.

‘East Midlands Airport’s ambitions to grow its unrivalled cargo operation has led to it seeking a Head of Cargo Development to help take it to a bigger, better future. The exciting opportunity to shape and drive the growth of the UK’s largest dedicated air cargo hub comes as it achieves record cargo volumes accounting for a third of all UK air cargo growth and continues to attract new cargo airlines and investment,’ East Midlands Airport stated.

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