On May 25, a B767 all-cargo aircraft loaded with 50 tons of goods departed from Haikou Meilan International Airport in southern China’s Hainan Province. After a stopover in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, it continued to Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest metropolitan area. This marked the official launch of the Haikou-Tbilisi-Tel Aviv cargo route, adding a new link to the expanding international air freight network of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP).

The new route, operated by Georgian Airways, offers weekly service every Sunday, mainly transporting e-commerce and general cargo. Leveraging the Hainan FTP’s Sixth Freedom of the Air* policy, the airline uses Tbilisi as a regional hub to establish a direct cargo channel between Hainan and Israel. The route not only strengthens freight connectivity among China, Georgia, and Israel, but also facilitates cross-border trade, industrial cooperation, and supply chain optimization — all contributing to the coordinated development of regional economies.

Since the beginning of 2025, Haikou’s Meilan International Airport has operated two international cargo routes, Haikou ⇌Paris and Tbilisi-Haikou-Milan, connecting three international cargo destinations and establishing an international cargo route network radiating out from Haikou to Europe, West Asia, and other regions of the globe. As of May 24, the airport’s year to date international cargo and mail throughput had reached a total of 7,834 tons, a year-on-year increase of 23%.

*Translator’s note: The Sixth Freedom of the Air (also known as a Sixth Freedom Right) refers to the right of an airline to carry traffic between two foreign countries via its home country.