A plane waits, as cargo is brought over for loading. [Photo/WeChat account: hzhgfb]

Driven by holiday promotions on cross-border e-commerce platforms, exports via Hangzhou International Airport put on a 27.75-percent year-on-year growth spurt to 11,900 metric tons in January.

The surge in activity in the airport – located in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province – was attributed to global demand for Chinese New Year products.

On AliExpress, the "No Holiday Break" campaign saw daily orders for many merchants exceed thousands or even tens of thousands of units, with exports in January alone topping 7 million orders.

Expanding cargo routes further supported the growth. In 2024, Hangzhou airport added or resumed six international freight routes to cities such as Miami, Vancouver, Mexico City, Osaka and Los Angeles

The airport currently operates 25 international cargo routes, running over 100 freighter flights weekly, linking with a dozen of the world's top 25 cargo airports.

Most notably, Hangzhou also allows stopovers in third countries for cargo transfers, the first in Zhejiang province to do so.

Amid rising demand, logistics companies are benefiting from increased flight availability.

"New routes like Derby and Los Angeles, with three weekly Boeing 747 freighter flights carrying 100 tons per trip, provide strong support for e-commerce exports," said Jiang Ying, deputy general manager of a local logistics company.

To streamline its [pm2] operations, Hangzhou airport customs has introduced international transshipment services and AI-powered inspection tools, improving efficiency of customs clearances by over 20 percent.

With these developments in hand, Hangzhou is said to be consolidating its role as a key hub for global e-commerce logistics.

A cross-border e-commerce warehouse in Hangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: chcecpa]