Shijiazhuang airport's international freight volume doubles in October

IN October, northern China's Shijiazhuang airport handled 1,084.8 tonnes of international cargo, up 105.4 per cent year on year, Xinhua reports.

China's national air freight volume was dragged down 3.1 per cent in the first three quarters by the world economic downturn. To cope with shrinking demand, the report said, Shijiazhuang airport has been seeking business opportunities by strengthening coordination with freight forwarders and carriers and enhance customs clearance efficiency.

In September, the airport's international cargo throughput started to rebound and reach the peak in October, when the airport started ad-hoc cargo charter flight to Kazakhstan's Aqtobe and Finland's Helsinki. In October, the airport offered as many as eight ad-hoc cargo charter flights per week with a highest daily throughput of 130 tonnes.

The airport also plans to launch ad-hoc cargo charter flight to Russia this year. Its international cargo throughput in November will be even higher than that in October, and the full-year volume is estimated to top 6,000 tops to a new high in two.