The cargo flight from Vancouver arrives at Hangzhou International Airport on May 24. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]

The maiden W81801 cargo flight operated by a Canadian freight airline landed at Hangzhou International Airport at 1:12 am on May 24, carrying 2.6 metric tons of Dungeness crabs from Vancouver.

Five hours later, the aircraft departed for Vancouver with 44.1 tons of cross-border e-commerce goods, marking the smooth launch of the Hangzhou-Vancouver cargo route.

The new route is Hangzhou International Airport's first Canadian cargo link and sixth North American route following services to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Mexico City.

The Dungeness crabs, sourced from Canada's North Pacific coast, reached Hangzhou after a 16-hour flight and were swiftly transported to local markets within 50 minutes of landing.

From January to April this year, 60 percent of the airport's export cargo comprised cross-border e-commerce goods, totaling 33,900 tons, an 80.69-percent year-on-year increase.

The new Hangzhou-Vancouver route will support major e-commerce platforms like Pinduoduo, AliExpress, and Shein, providing 150 tons of weekly exports across three flights. The service will facilitate the distribution of clothing, shoes, and small goods to key Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Toronto and streamline the import of Canadian products like lobsters, shellfish, and fruits to Zhejiang.

The Dungeness crabs sourced from Canada's North Pacific coast. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]