1st Hainan FTP “fifth freedom” air rights flight formally opens

Photo provided by Haikou Meilan International Airport

On May 16th, a cargo flight from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta took off for Haikou, capital of China’s southernmost province Hainan, stopping in Singapore under the fifth “freedoms of the air”. The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granted to airlines from other countries regarding privileges such as entering, landing, and transiting. The fifth freedom allows an airliner to carry passengers and cargo from its home country to a second country before its landing in a third country. This flight marks the formal start of the Hainan Free Trade Port’s first “fifth freedom” all-cargo flight route.

Jointly launched by the Indonesian airline My Indo and Alibaba’s logistics branch Cainiao, this regularly scheduled all-cargo route will run between Jakarta, Singapore, and Haikou, planning to use Haikou as a cargo distribution center for the three countries.

The fifth freedom has long been considered to be the air right with the greatest economic significance as it is an important channel by which airlines can expand their international networks and expand their global reach to more markets. The launch of this new route not only complements Hainan’s international cargo flight network in the Southeast Asian market, but also injects new momentum to the island’s capital city Haikou during the process of the province building itself into a world-class free trade port; the launch of this new route is also an embodiment of implementing the country’s “dual circulation” development strategy wherein “the domestic market is the mainstay” and “domestic and foreign markets reinforce each other”.

See more at: http://www.hicn.cn/system/2021/04/16/032540407.shtml

Photo provided by Haikou Meilan International Airport