With three weekly flights now between Nanjing and Hong Kong, so travel between the two is beginning to normalise. But for some, the cargo carried on board is a crucial part of the puzzle helping businesses maintain operations.
On 14 August, Juneyao Air debuted its first ever flight serving Nanjing and Hong Kong. Flight HO1305 departed Lukou some two hours late, delaying the return flight, HO1306, which arrived at Lukou at 20:32.
The new service means there are now three airlines operating services between the two great cities; the aforementioned Juneyao, together with Hong Kong Airlines (flights HX216/217) and Cathay Pacific (flights CX356/357).
That’s come as a relief, not only for passengers, but also for companies in either city which are dependent on imports for their continued business.
Take Sharp for example. On 9 August, the Japanese giant imported a batch of electronic components from Hong Kong on one of the direct flights.
Before the resumption of these services, the products had to be imported by other means and from other ports, and then transported to Nanjing.
Turns out this was costing a pretty penny.
Jiang Yizhong is a director of import and export with Sharp. Speaking with Nanjing Daily, Jiang explained that the imported goods were mainly inductors, utilised in the production of LCD televisions in Nanjing.
Sharp also revealed that the company in fact has many long-term stable suppliers in Hong Kong. The resumption of flights therefore came as great news for Sharp, which is one of the longest-serving foreign firms in Nanjing, based in Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone.
Jiang said, “The flight resumptions have provided us with a stable logistics chain, saved nearly 50 percent of domestic logistics cost and greatly shortened the time for goods to be transported to the factory”.
Elsewhere in the skies, there are now 11 passenger routes operating from Nanjing Lukou International Airport to Europe, Southeast Asia and other countries and regions. Some are returning to service after COVID, such as the Lufthansa flight this publication reported on last week. Others, such as the Juneyao Air flight, are brand new.
In terms of air cargo, from January to July of this year, Nanjing Lukou Airport Customs has processed a total of 29,000 tons of goods for import and export.
