URUMQI, Xinjiang (TCA) — A new cargo air route was launched this week linking Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
The cargo flight, loaded with clothes and electronic devices made in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and the city of Yiwu in east China, left Urumqi for Tashkent on July 15. The returning flight carries agricultural products from Tashkent, according to Ren Fei, general manager of a local aviation service company.
The flight will be operated five to seven times per week, with the frequency adjusted as needed, according to the company.
It used to take about 12 days to transport goods from China to Central Asian countries by train or truck. With the launch of the new air route, the time will be shortened to three hours, Ren said.
Xinjiang has opened four international cargo air routes so far, including Urumqi to Belgium’s Liege, Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek, and Almaty in Kazakhstan.
In the first half of this year, around 73,500 tonnes of cargo and mail were transported through the Diwopu International Airport in Urumqi, up 11.98 percent year on year.
