Freighter aircraft, which experience slot problems and congestion at Beijing now have the option of moving to Tianjin. A boost to the airport in the coming years was given by the central Government when it decreed that Tianjin, together with its seaport and industrial zones will be the logistics center for Northern China.
The airport is 102 miles from Beijing and is thought to be the capital’s freight airport for the future. In 2006 it was ranked at 15th position in all of China, with cargo and mail throughput close to 91,000 tonnes, a hike of 20 per cent over the previous year.
And similarly to Tianjin which hopes to tap the overflow situation of Beijing, Nanjing hopes its proximity to Shanghai will likewise be put it in good steed.
Promoting her home city and the airport, Carol Yu, marketing supervisor of Nanjing Lukou International explained that the airport serves 29 different airlines, which in turn fly to 120 destinations – domestic, regional and international.
Nanjing is 250 miles west of Shanghai and can connect to many destinations in China by road, rail and river transport. One and half hours flight time reaches 45 per cent of the population and 60 per cent of the GDP. Nanjing is the home airport to the nation’s mailman, China Postal Airlines, where they plan to build the largest express centre in Asia.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals general manager Lilian Chan said that HACTL had established six inland cargo receiving depots at other airports in the Pearl River Delta area. Hong Kong continues to be the world’s busiest airport for cargo with a throughput figure in 2007 at 3.4 million tonnes.