Central China Longhao adds twice-weekly East Midlands cargo service

Central China Longhao Airlines will operate two Boeing 747-400 freighter flights each week from Zhengzhou International Airport to East Midlands Airport, the airport said. One aircraft arrived at East Midlands on Monday, adding the Chinese carrier to the airport's roster of operators serving the UK cargo market.

The announced Zhengzhou link adds a 747-400 freighter to East Midlands' China network and provides shippers with another direct gateway between China and central England. The schedule extends Central China Longhao's existing network across Asia and Europe, although the announcement gives no start date, rate structure or guaranteed tonnage.

What does this change for East Midlands cargo operators?

For shippers and freight forwarders, the practical change is specific: the announced schedule adds two 747-400 freight movements each week between Zhengzhou and a UK airport with dedicated cargo infrastructure and fewer operating constraints. East Midlands' central location, lack of congestion and fewer night-flying restrictions help explain why Chinese carriers have used the airport more frequently since the Covid crisis.

Those flights have also coincided with a surge in business-to-consumer e-commerce orders. East Midlands is home to the main UK air hubs of DHL Express, UPS and FedEx, and it is benefiting from capacity constraints at other airports as shippers seek alternatives.

East Midlands has set a measurable growth target

East Midlands, operated by Manchester Airport Group, has set a short-term goal of raising cargo from a near-record 413,000 metric tons in 2025 to 500,000 metric tons by 2030. The airport says that increase would lift annual revenue by more than $11.2 million.

Through September, the airport had handled nearly 211,000 metric tons, 5% more than a year earlier. East Midlands has also advertised for a new head of cargo development.

The announcement provides no route-level charges, service costs or tonnage forecast. The $11.2 million estimate therefore describes the airport's broader revenue potential, not the economics of Longhao's new service.

The airline is small but geographically broad

China Central Longhao Airlines, also calling itself Air Central, was restructured and established in 2019 by Henan Civil Aviation Development & Investment Group. The state-owned carrier serves as Henan's main base airline and has played a key role in building Zhengzhou's international air cargo hub.

Its fleet operates throughout Asia and into Europe and currently includes several smaller cargo jets used within China plus two Boeing 747-400s. Air Central says it plans to expand the fleet soon, but the announcement gives no aircraft type, order size or delivery date.

Before the announced East Midlands addition, Air Central's international network connected Zhengzhou with Liege, Belgium, as well as Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi in India. The UK route would add another European endpoint to that network and provide a second European connection alongside the existing Belgian service.

US approval has not yet produced flights

In March, the US Department of Transportation granted Air Central authority to serve Chicago O'Hare and Los Angeles International Airport. Flightradar24 showed that neither route had started, and a person familiar with the situation said slow operational and safety reviews by the Federal Aviation Administration had delayed the launch.

The distinction matters because the department's authority to serve the US did not itself complete operating and safety clearance. Until those reviews finish, Air Central holds authority to serve the two US airports but has not converted that authority into scheduled operations.

The China network is expanding around the airport

• April: YunExpress opened a cargo terminal at East Midlands to handle its own package freight arriving on Central Airlines flights from China.
• Last November: SF Express began operating from Ezhou to East Midlands, carrying e-commerce goods on behalf of a distributor.
• September 2025: UK-based startup freighter One Air began scheduled service between Hong Kong and East Midlands, focusing on e-commerce and electronics from China aboard Boeing 747-400 cargo jets.

YunExpress now has on-site handling for its own packages, while SF Express and One Air extend the scheduled China network. For East Midlands, that combination supplies more carrier and integrator choices; for shippers, it broadens the airports and services available beyond one Zhengzhou rotation. The announcement gives no volume or revenue forecast for the individual operators.

Capacity claims still require operating proof

Longhao's twice-weekly schedule and East Midlands' 5% year-on-year cargo growth provide the clearest current measures of activity. Fleet expansion and US service remain uncompleted developments.

The next test is whether Longhao sustains the new rotations, secures FAA operational and safety clearance and specifies fleet additions. Those steps will determine whether East Midlands can turn its additional China links and 2030 revenue goal into sustained cargo growth.