On October 3, an exciting piece of news came from Zhengzhou Entry-Exit Immigration Inspection (referred to as ZII): the number of inbound and outbound cargo flights at Zhengzhou Airport Port (ZAP) has exceeded 10,000, a year-on-year increase of nearly 50%, surpassing the total number of flights in 2024. Thus, ZAP has become the first airport port in Central China to see international cargo flights "break 10,000".
At 9:45 a.m. that day, Flight CV4484 from Luxembourg landed smoothly at the tarmac of Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport after a 10-hour flight. Police officer Wang Jing and auxiliary staff member Guo Yuhao from ZII's 6th Duty Team boarded the plane quickly as usual. In less than 10 minutes, they successfully completed the support task for ZAP's 10,000th inbound and outbound cargo flight this year.
"Data shows that the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg international cargo route remains stable and outstanding in performance," said Zhang Yi, ZII's Director. Since the beginning of this year, 1,352 flights have been operated on this route, a year-on-year increase of approximately 25%. Over the 11 years since its launch, Zhengzhou-Luxembourg "Air Silk Road" has become a landmark symbol for Henan Province to advance high-level opening-up."
In the first three quarters of this year, Henan Province continued to expand its global cargo network, launching and increasing the frequency of more than 10 all-cargo routes to destinations such as Abu Dhabi (UAE), Billund (Denmark), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Oslo (Norway), Madrid (Spain), and Nottingham (UK). These routes have become ZAP's new growth drivers. "These newly launched and frequency-increased routes account for over 10% of the 10,000 inbound and outbound cargo flights, showing a strong momentum of development," Zhang Yi stated.
It took only 9 months and 3 days for ZAP to take the lead in Central China to achieve10,000 international cargo flights. This means that the average weekly number of international cargo flights at ZAP exceeds 250. Its portfunctions continue to improve, building an international air cargo hub for Central China that radiates across the three major economic zones of Europe, America, and Asia.
"During peak hours, an international cargo flight takes off or lands every 20 minutes on average. From 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. every day, there even forms a 'night peak', with a single-hour peak of 29 flights," introduced Guo Lichao, Director of Port Administration of Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone (ZAEZ). Currently, 33 all-cargo airlines operate at Zhengzhou, with 45 international cargo routes opened, connecting 48 international (regional) cities. The cargo network covers more than 30 countries and regions globally.
While the number of international cargo flights has reached a new high, ZAP's international passenger "flow" is also remarkable. Data from ZII shows that as of 12:00 on October 3rd, it had inspected over 4,500 international passenger flights this year, a year-on-year increase of 12.5%. It has cleared approximately 780,000 entry-exit passengers, a year-on-year increase of about 15%, with the number of foreign passenger entries and exits increasing by 77% year-on-year. In August, the number of entry-exit passengers at ZAP reached nearly 100,000, setting a new monthly record for clearance since 2023. (Chinese source: Henan Daily Reporter: Yang Ling and Zhao Tongzeng Video: Zhu Xilong Correspondent: Lang Ling and Yuan Ye Translator: Hong Jianyuan)
