Central UK airport builds China connections with major cargo deals

CGTN Europe

Already running $1.5bn in trade with China, East Midlands Airport has now reached agreement with two Chinese cargo giants.   CGTN's Ray Addison reports. #trade #uk #China #travel

Transcript

00:00Nighttime at East Midlands Airport, and whilst runways at larger hubs such as Heathrow face

00:06flight restrictions, here operations continue 24-7.

00:10This enables EMA to play a crucial role in facilitating trade between China and the UK.

00:17Last year they handled close to $1.6 billion worth of imports and exports.

00:22East Midlands Airport is one of the most centrally located airports in the UK, so if you fly

00:29goods into East Midlands Airport for the UK market, they can be distributed around the

00:34UK to customers very easily and very quickly.

00:37And business with China is growing.

00:40A new deal will see China's Central Airlines and Yun Express launch their first ever flights

00:45to the UK in the coming days, starting twice weekly and building up to five scheduled arrivals.

00:52They've also agreed to redevelop existing cargo facilities on site.

00:57It follows the example of Britain's One Air, which switched its operations from Heathrow

01:02just over a year ago.

01:03In a few months we've got our first 777 freighter coming in, and that's a dedicated freighter

01:08that's actually built for cargo operations.

01:11We're looking at growing the business and bringing on scheduled services out to China,

01:16probably via Hong Kong and Muscat and the likes.

01:19But airport bosses believe British firms are missing a great opportunity.

01:24So, six times a week, these One Air flights, that's a British firm carrying Chinese goods,

01:30arrives here at the airport.

01:32Thousands of tonnes of cargo.

01:33We're talking packages, deliveries all across the United Kingdom, but all too often those flights

01:40return to China completely empty.

01:43And that's what East Midlands Airport is trying to fix.

01:46The airport is developing a new tech zone, designed to appeal to UK businesses keen to

01:52boost or establish trade with China.

01:55Several parcels of land close to the airport are ripe for development, including Ratcliffe-on-Saw,

02:01where the UK's last coal-fired power station, which closed last year, is being demolished.

02:07The research we've done suggests that over the next 15, 20 years we can see another 50%

02:11increase in the volume of goods coming through here.

02:14Advanced logistics and advanced manufacturing will hopefully attract the types of customers

02:18who need to get their goods very quickly all around the world.

02:23If successful, East Midlands Airport could not only redraw the map when it comes to the

02:28location of firms engaged in UK-China trade, but also create thousands of new job opportunities

02:34in the region. Ray Addison, CGTN, in the East Midlands.

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