Chengdu Tianfu Airport Opens Southwest China's First Direct All-Cargo Route to Africa
en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 28, Ethiopian Airlines' ET3005 all-cargo aircraft, departing from Addis Ababa, landed smoothly at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, marking the official inauguration of the airport's first direct all-cargo scheduled route to Africa. This is the first all-cargo route operated by a foreign airline at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, the only scheduled all-cargo route directly connecting Southwest China to Africa, and also the first cargo route to Africa launched after China implemented zero-tariff policies for African countries, filling the market gap for direct all-cargo air links between Southwest China and Africa.
The Chengdu Tianfu–Addis Ababa route will be operated with Boeing 777F all-cargo aircraft, currently with two weekly flights on Mondays and Fridays. Through dynamic capacity optimization, the frequency will be increased to four flights per week, continuously enhancing the route's cargo carrying capacity and operational stability.
The two-way cargo flow structure of the route precisely aligns with the complementary and mutually beneficial cooperation framework between China and Africa. Inbound flights carry African specialty agricultural, forestry, and livestock products such as coffee, flowers, fruits and vegetables, and beef and mutton, efficiently delivering the continent's distinctive goods to China's western market. Outbound flights primarily transport high-value-added smart-manufactured products under the "new three items" of foreign trade—new energy vehicles, photovoltaic equipment, and lithium batteries—enabling "Made in China" to reach the African continent through air corridors.
Tang Ruibo, General Manager of Ethiopian Airlines China Region, stated that with the route's inauguration and leveraging Ethiopian Airlines' hub transfer advantages at Addis Ababa, cargo departing from Chengdu can be efficiently distributed to key cities across 54 African countries, including Lagos, Accra, Dakar, Entebbe, and Lubumbashi, establishing a direct air logistics link from the western hinterland to Africa and providing large-scale, high-efficiency aviation logistics support for China-Africa trade. "Relying on high-density, normalized capacity deployment and a mature hub transfer system, we have provided comprehensive capacity support and hub assurance for the cross-border distribution and route network expansion of this Chengdu Tianfu–Addis Ababa all-cargo route."
On one end, it carries the hope of Chinese manufacturing going global; on the other, it connects Africa's distinctive products. Chengdu Tianfu International Airport's aviation hub advantages and its core geographic position at the center of the western inland region will also generate multiple agglomeration and multiplier effects for African imports entering China.
Meanwhile, the Chengdu-Chongqing region's vast consumer market and well-established trade distribution network can rapidly absorb and channel African import cargo, creating a new import trade pattern of "direct entry, local distribution, nationwide reach", continuously enhancing Chengdu's capacity for aggregating, allocating, and circulating African imports, and helping Southwest China become a core hub for China-Africa import trade.
In recent years, China-Africa economic and trade exchanges have advanced steadily with expanding trade volumes. In 2025, China-Africa trade reached US$348 billion, up 17.7% year-on-year. This year marks the 70th anniversary of China-Africa diplomatic relations and the "China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges." On May 1, China implemented zero-tariff treatment on 100% of tariff lines for all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, with policy dividends continuing to be released.
United by shared aspirations across thousands of miles, bound by a shared future. The inauguration of the Chengdu Tianfu–Addis Ababa all-cargo route is both a landmark initiative by Chengdu to proactively embrace the nation's opening-up strategy toward Africa and deepen practical China-Africa cooperation, and a critical move for the western inland region to break through geographic constraints and deeply integrate into the Asia-Europe-Africa economic and trade cycle.
Currently, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport operates 77 international and regional routes, pursuing a dual-passenger-and-cargo development strategy and establishing an "all-cargo aircraft + belly cargo" growth framework. From January to July this year, the airport handled 233,000 tonnes of cargo and mail throughput, including 112,000 tonnes of international cargo and mail, up 10.3% year-on-year. The airport's port import and export value reached RMB 330.35 billion, accounting for 62.6% of Chengdu's aviation port total. Designated supervision sites processed 5,991 tonnes of special goods imports and exports, up 40.0% year-on-year, while the international express center handled 13,404 tonnes, up 93.9% year-on-year.
A thriving hub drives thriving industries. The launch of the all-cargo route represents not only the completion of a logistics corridor but also a leap in the level of opening-up. Chengdu Tianfu International Airport will remain anchored to the goal of "building a world-class, domestically leading global aviation hub airport", vigorously expanding its route network, strengthening international connectivity, and contributing greater strength to serving the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and helping Sichuan build a strategic highland for opening westward and a new base for international competition.
