BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou City, Hubei Province (Central China), which is the first professional cargo airport in Asia and the fourth of its kind in the world, has officially began operations on July 17.

At 9:07 a.m., the airport received its first inbound cargo flight, SF Airlines Flight 767-300, from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province. ).

The first inbound passenger flight, flight CZ5679 operated by China Southern Airlines, arrived at the airport at 9:49 a.m., eight minutes earlier than scheduled. The flight took off from Beijing Daxing International Airport in the Chinese capital Beijing at 8:00 a.m.

Both flights passed a welcome water gate, the highest civil aviation courtesy, after arriving at the airport.

As an international air cargo hub, the airport’s air network covers the whole country and destinations across the globe. With its 1.5-hour flight circle reaching the country’s five major city groups and covering 80% of the country’s population, passengers and cargo departing from the airport can arrive at the country’s major airports by one night and at major foreign airports the following day.

The airport has adopted a wide range of advanced smart technologies and applications, allowing passengers to pass identity verification, explosive detection and temperature measurement at a security checkpoint in three to five seconds.

Three of the airport’s six terminal security checkpoints are smart checkpoints that allow passengers to board the plane in the shortest possible time.

Covering a total area of ​​118,900 square kilometers, the airport has a terminal of 15,000 square meters, a cargo station of 24,000 square meters, a cargo transfer center of 678,000 square meters, two runways and an apron that can accommodate 124 aircraft.

Passenger air links between Ezhou and nine destinations in Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Qingdao, Kunming and Ningbo, as well as two cargo air links between Ezhou and Shenzhen and Shanghai are expected to be operated. during the initial phase of airport operations.

International freight routes between Ezhou and overseas cities, including Osaka in Japan and Frankfurt in Germany, are also expected to be launched this year.

By 2025, the airport will have opened around 10 international air cargo routes and around 50 domestic routes. Meanwhile, its freight and mail throughput will reach 2.45 million tons; and it will handle one million passenger trips a year. The numbers are expected to reach 3.3 million and 1.5 million respectively by 2030.

Additionally, after the airport’s third runway is commissioned in 2050, the airport will be able to handle 20 million passenger trips, 9.08 million tons of cargo, and 270,000 inbound and outbound flights per year.

Located in the geometric center of the cities of Ezhou, Huangshi and Huanggang in Hubei province, the airport is only about 20 minutes by car from the city centers of the three cities.

Shuttles connecting the airport to the railway station and bus stations in Ezhou, as well as highways connecting the airport and several cities, were all opened simultaneously for the convenience of passengers and goods.

The airport is expected to play an important role in boosting the industrial development of surrounding cities and facilitating passenger and cargo air transportation in China as well as around the world.