Photo: Courtesy of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport

The number of overseas cargo flights during the 7-day Spring Festival holiday more than doubled compared with the previous two years, official data showed on Thursday, showing robust trade between China and overseas countries. 

There were 2,553 overseas cargo flights during the 7-day holidays, an increase of 212.48 percent over the same period last year, and an increase of 258.57 percent from 2019, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Thursday.

Air New Zealand said on February 4 that it would be operating three return services to Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province to support the export and import of premium goods over the Chinese New Year peak period.

Since February 7, the airline has been operating two multi-stop services a week using its Boeing 787-9 fleet to pick up goods in Auckland and Christchurch to carry to Guangzhou.

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Central China’s Hubei Province said the outbound cargo reached 16 flights from February 11 to 16, carrying more than 1,000 tons, including auto parts, electronic products and daily consumer goods. 

The cargo was transported to Ethiopia, Europe and the US. The airport also plans to resume regular cargo flights to Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong this year.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport said that from February 11 to 15, the cargo volume increased by 55.12 percent from the same period in 2019 and 29.64 percent from the same period in 2020. 

But the passenger numbers during the past seven days saw a big drop compared with the previous two years. The industry transported 3.57 million passengers, down 45 percent from 2020, and down 71 percent from 2019.