airports Shanghai closes in on top spot
SHANGHAI IS THE nearest airport in the region with the potential to overhaul Hong Kong in the long term and it is the one city in which every Chinese and Hong Kong-based carrier is desperate to grow its freight volumes. Within the next five years Shanghai will overtake Hong Kong in terms of its cargo volume. However, Hong Kong is likely to continue to serve a far greater percentage of intercontinental and
long-range destinations, while Shanghai will act as a leading intra-Asia hub and gateway to onward China flights. China’s rise will inevitably see
Shanghai soar as the leading freight airport in the nation. “In 2009, the cargo volume of Shanghai accounted for 35 percent of the whole country. Pudong airport has became the No. 3 global air cargo hub,” said China Cargo Airlines executive deputy general manager
the world’s most sophisticated air freight facilities. “The construction of the terminal – together with our
continued investment in new freighters – underscores Cathay Pacific’s long-term commitment to the Hong Kong air cargo hub,” says the airline’s director of cargo Rupert Hogg. The latest August figures for the airport paint their
own increasingly congested picture. To consolidate its hub status, a third runway at the airport will be of crucial importance. “Although civil aviation authorities continue to work at implementing more efficient solutions to increase capacities, it is not sustainable in the long term, as the airport is becoming quite full. Hong Kong needs then its third runway to offer even more connectivity,” comments Wong Kar-lai, an independent transport analyst. Air movements on the current
two runways can go close to 60 an hour with the government studying the possibility of increasing it to 68 up to 2015, when Hong Kong airport will open a new midfield terminal. The airport would then have an annual handling capacity of 70 million passengers and 6 million tons of cargo, which is expected to cope with air traffic demand up to 2020. “However, improving air movements through new air
traffic equipment would only delay the day the airport becomes fully slot constrained,” Wong added. Debated since 2006, the cost of a third runway, however, remains a sensitive issue. The third runway would require between US$3.8 and $5.5 billion but could boost air movements to 80 per hour.
26 AIR LOGISTICSCHINA
Gao Pei at the Air Cargo China 2010 conference in Shanghai earlier this year. The cargo handling volume of
Shanghai-based China Cargo Airlines accounts for 36.5 percent of China’s total and more than 70 percent of the cargo throughput at Shanghai’s airports. At present, the company operates 27 all-cargo routes. Cargo throughput for the most recent month available, August, increased by 17.2
While many have predicted the demise of Hong Kong
as a freight hub, the volumes keep piling up and this has encouraged leading express operator DHL to announce recently a further injection worth millions of dollars to strengthen its Hong Kong hub.
SHENZHEN EXPANDS Just over the border north of Hong Kong lies Shenzhen, which welcomed integrated express cargo and services provider UPS to its runways early this year. The carrier opened its all-new Asia Pacific headquarters on 8 February in Shenzhen, having relocated from Clark in the Philippines. The cargo handling capacity of the new UPS facility, which includes a bonded warehouse, can manage 18,000 units an hour and can be expanded to 36,000 units per hour. The arrival of UPS in the Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen is a huge step up for this southern city. That said, the gateway is already home to a number of cargo players. Jade Cargo International, a joint venture involving Shenzhen Airlines and Lufthansa, was founded in 2004 and is one of
the most high-profile joint ventures between local and international airlines. Its fleet currently consists of six B747-400ERFs. A very significant change to China’s air cargo scene came
this January. China now has a private courier company for the first time – and it is also operating its own aircraft. The Civil Aviation Administration of China granted a new air transport licence to Shenzhen-headquartered SF Express,
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