China's first professional cargo hub airport in the city of Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province, on Sunday launched its first all-cargo air route, linking Ezhou with Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province.

This photo taken on Nov. 27, 2022 shows an all-cargo aircraft from Shenzhen being unloaded at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province. [Xinhua/Wu Zhizun]

The Ezhou Huahu Airport is also the first professional cargo hub airport in Asia and the fourth of its kind in the world. Since the airport was put into operation on July 17, it has opened multiple passenger routes linking Ezhou with cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Xiamen.

According to the airport, the all-cargo air route is operated by Boeing 737 all-cargo aircraft, carrying express mail. The range of the route covers places such as Wuhan, Ezhou, Huangshi, and Huanggang in Hubei Province.

The airport said it will also open an all-cargo air route linking Ezhou and Shanghai soon.

The annual cargo and mail throughput of the airport is expected to reach 3.3 million tonnes by 2030, with the annual passenger throughput reaching 1.5 million.