The FX5286 flight run by FedEx recently landed safe and sound on Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport. The aircraft slowly passed a “water gate”, the highest etiquette in civil aviation, marking that FedEx, one of the world’s largest courier companies, has given a full-scale upgrade to its international freight routes from Qingdao to the US, and officially put its Qingdao-based international port handling center into operation.

In May this year, Qingdao Airport and FedEx joined hands to pilot the “Qingdao-Osaka-America” air freight route. Known as Shandong Province’s first Fifth Freedom Right all-cargo line, the air freight route starts with Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport, passes via Osaka in Japan and ends with FedEx’s Super Transfer Center located in Memphis in State o Tennessee, America. In the trial period, 60 take-offs and landings have occurred, with a total shipment of 1,092 tons.

Following the official upgrade, the air route currently sees five flights per week from only one flight a week before. Thanks to the increased transport capacity, the time consumed to transport parcels and heavy cargoes from Qingdao and other regions in Shandong Province to North America can be reduced by one day, and even some parcels bound to America can arrive on the next day.  (Zhou Jianliang)