The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) will open both airports in Beijing for all operators of cargo flights, a move to encourage rising air shipments as the coronavirus outbreak ebbs. China will allow domestic and foreign carriers to operate cargo routes at both Beijing Daxing International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport. In 2018, all airlines except China Postal Airlines were told to choose one of the two airports to operate cargo routes. The regulator said it will further simplify the procedures for permits for international cargo routes. For example, airlines only need to apply for a permit once, and they can operate all international cargo routes in the catalog after gaining approval.

China maintains regular cargo flights to 102 destinations in 49 countries and regions. In April, Chinese and foreign airlines had an average of 1,574 scheduled flights per week, an increase of 133.2% from the pre-virus period. American Airlines currently operates two daily cargo flights from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Los Angeles and two daily cargo flights from Shanghai to Los Angeles, carrying mainly medical supplies and daily necessities. Starting on May 14, American Airlines will add three weekly cargo flights from Beijing to Dallas-Fort Worth using a Boeing 787-9. Lufthansa Cargo China has resumed scheduled cargo flights between Germany and China from mid-April, and it now has 105 cargo flights per week between Germany and China. Before the coronavirus epidemic, Lufthansa Cargo had a market share of around 12% for cargo shipped between Europe and China, and 25% for that shipped between Germany and China.

Airbus said it is developing a modification for the A330 and A350 family aircraft that will enable airlines to install freight pallets directly onto the cabin floor seat tracks, after removal of the economy-class seats. This solution will alleviate the global shortage of “cargo-hold” air cargo capacity due to the widespread grounding of long-haul aircraft amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Global Times reports.

Domestic and foreign international cargo flights in China totaled an average of 1,574 per week in April – up more than 55% from before the coronavirus outbreak. The weekly figure surged to 2,365 in the first two weeks of this month.