How Hangzhou Airport is becoming an “international hub”

Routes have become a convenient channel for Zhejiang to connect with the world.

Last week, the civil aviation began to implement the flight plan for the 2024 winter season. In terms of international regions, Hangzhou Airport has added an international route to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which is scheduled to open on November 17.

Thus, including the 9 new and restored international passenger routes of Sapporo, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh, Chiang Mai, Kalibo, Nagoya, Shizuoka, Melbourne, and Muan this year, the number of international and regional routes of Hangzhou Airport in the new season has increased to 36, covering 21 countries in four continents. The number of international and regional passenger flights planned for a week exceeded 600, an increase of 4% year-on-year, ranking sixth in the country.

More and more international routes, as well as my country’s expanding visa-free “circle of friends”, have increased the passenger flow of the airport. Statistics show that among the 41.183 million passengers transported by Hangzhou Airport this year, 3.782 million were international and regional passengers, an increase of 87.7% year-on-year. The substantial increase in the number of inbound and outbound tourists has become one of the important reasons for the passenger flow at Hangzhou Airport this year.

At the same time, the reporter checked the newly approved international route operating licenses for the third quarter of 2024 recently announced by the Civil Aviation Administration and found that the approval application for the “Hangzhou-Bucharest” route submitted by Zhejiang local airline Changlong Airlines has been approved. This is also Changlong’s first long-distance route plan.

In addition to passenger flow, Hangzhou Airport’s air cargo is also moving towards internationalization.

In 2023, Zhejiang Airlines’ cargo and mail throughput reached 1.09 million tons, ranking fourth in the country, of which Hangzhou Airport’s international cargo volume reached 170,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 22%, ranking first among the top ten airports in the country.

However, in terms of international air cargo volume, Zhejiang’s international air cargo demand in 2023 is about 1.25 million tons, while only 270,000 tons will be shipped through Zhejiang ports. Few cargo routes and small cargo holds are important reasons for the outflow of cargo. According to surveys by local freight forwarders and airlines, a large amount of international cargo in Zhejiang has been lost to Shanghai, Guangdong, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.