A Georgian Airways cargo aircraft operates a freight route to Hainan under fifth freedom rights. (Source: Hainan Daily)

Hainan's international air cargo business continues to grow. Data recently released by the Department of Transport of Hainan Province show that the province handled 266,000 tons of air cargo and mail in the first three quarters of 2026, up 5.3% year over year. Of this total, international and regional cargo and mail throughput reached 37,000 tons, an increase of 83.7%, making it a major driver of growth in the province's air freight sector.

Hainan has steadily expanded its international air cargo network in recent years. The province's total air cargo and mail throughput exceeded 300,000 tons for the first time in 2024 and reached 336,000 tons in 2025, an increase of approximately 50% compared with the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025).

Since the beginning of 2026, Hainan has operated a total of 83 international and regional passenger routes serving 46 cities in 24 countries, along with 12 international cargo routes connecting 10 overseas cities in 10 countries. Haikou Meilan International Airport alone operates nine international cargo routes to Europe, Southeast Asia, West Asia, and Africa.

In 2026 alone, Hainan has launched cargo routes to and from Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and other destinations, strengthening air logistics links to Southeast Asian markets. Qionghai Boao Airport has also launched its first scheduled international all-cargo service, enabling closer coordination of international freight operations between Meilan and Boao airports.

Haikou Meilan International Airport staff load international cargo. (Source: Hainan Daily)

The expanding route network is making it easier for cross-border e-commerce businesses and exporters of local specialty products to access overseas markets.

Cross-border e-commerce cargo cleared under the "9610" customs model—which enables vastly simplified direct B2C shipping—at Haikou Meilan International Airport surged from 97 tons in 2022 to 16,381 tons in 2024, an increase of about 168 times. Its share of the airport's international cargo and mail throughput rose from 2% to 62%. In the first three quarters of 2026, cargo handled under this model totaled 10,369 tons, accounting for roughly 40% of the airport's international cargo and mail throughput.

Meanwhile, Hainan specialties such as Wenchang chicken, tropical fruits, and chilled seafood are increasingly being exported by air on a regular basis. All-cargo flights operating under a model that consolidates export shipments in the Pearl River Delta and carries duty-free goods on return flights have improved cargo capacity utilization and opened new logistics channels for fresh produce trade between Hainan and Southeast Asia.

Imports are also growing. With designated customs supervision facilities for imported edible aquatic animals and fruit now operational at Haikou Meilan International Airport, imports of related goods have continued to expand. Imports through the airport reached 37.6 tons in 2025 and had already climbed to 999 tons in the first nine months of 2026.