Huahu Airport in Ezhou, Central China's Hubei Province Photo: VCG

Asia's first and the world's fourth dedicated cargo airport Huahu Airport in Ezhou, Central China's Hubei Province, entered operation on Sunday, with the ability to realize one-day-domestic delivery and two-day-international delivery, CCTV reported on Sunday. 

From the Huahu Airport, it only takes one hour and a half to reach five major city groups including in Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, which accounts for 90 percent of national GDP value. 

Wang Yanan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Sunday that a dedicated cargo airport should be equipped with relevant infrastructure to meet the demands of freight aircraft.

"A cargo airport should have extra wide and tough airstrips to hold heavy-weight planes, and machines to secure the loading and unloading efficiency," said Wang. He noted that Huahu Airport's launch of its cargo transport sector marked the opening of Asia's first dedicated cargo airport. 

According to a Jiemian News report, Huahu Airport was designed to provide cargo transport as a priority over commercial travel. The designed annual transport volume in 2025 for passenger and cargo will reach 1 million passenger trips, and 2.45 million tons of freight.

Huahu Airport has a high benchmark for annual freight transport volume of 2.45 million tons. Only Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport reached freight volumes over 2 million tons in 2021 with 3.98 million tons and 2.04 million tons each. 

Attracting investment of 30.84 billion yuan (4.56 billion), Huahu Airport will gradually open to commercial flights travelling to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other major domestic cities, in addition to cargo routes to Frankfurt and Osaka. 

Global Times