SINGAPORE: Changi Airport on Tuesday (Sep 4) welcomed its first ever Chinese express cargo airline, which will operate between Singapore and China.
SF Airlines, which landed at Changi on its inaugural flight from Shenzhen, is the largest express airline in China by aircraft fleet, said Changi Airport Group (CAG) in a news release.
AdvertisementAn express airline provides services for cargo which needs to be delivered to a deadline.
The addition of SF Airlines' weekly service will increase main deck airfreight capacity to and from Shenzhen by about 16 per cent, said CAG.
For the past 12 months ending June, there were more than 270,000 tonnes of airfreight throughput (+8 per cent year-on-year) registered between China and Singapore.
China is Changi Airport's largest air cargo market, and Shenzhen is among Singapore's top five Chinese cities for cargo throughput, said CAG.
AdvertisementAdvertisementCurrently, shipping company UPS also operates pure freighter services on the Singapore-Shenzhen route, while bellyhold capacity is provided by passengers airlines Scoot, Shenzhen Airlines and SilkAir.
CAG's managing director for Air Hub Development, Mr Lim Ching Kiat, said this move would "secure Singapore's position as a premier regional cargo hub" as it would allow for more cargo flows to and through Changi Airport.
“There is also growing demand by the Chinese market for perishables and pharmaceutical products from the Southwest Pacific and Southeast Asian regions," he said.
"The added capacity by SF Airlines marks the start of expected growth of express flows on these routes.”
As a member of SF Group, SF Airlines' new services in Singapore will be an extension of the group's business in the country.
SF express, which is the group's express delivery arm, has been operating in Singapore since February 2017 and established warehousing facilities in the Changi Airfrieght Centre in September 2012.
Changi Airport is connected to 36 Chinese cities with more than 380 weekly services as of Jul 1.
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