Nantong Customs officers check the goods to be transported to Japan. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

An all-freighter aircraft carrying 15 metric tons of goods took off from Nantong Xingdong International Airport in Jiangsu province on March 12 and landed in Tokyo, Japan, after over three hours of flight.

This marks the official resumption of the all-freighter route linking Nantong to Tokyo, injecting new momentum into the economic and trade exchanges between Nantong, its surrounding areas, and Japan.

Nantong boasts close economic and trade relations with Japan, an important foreign trade partner and the second-largest source of foreign investment for Nantong.

As a significant gathering place for Japanese-funded enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta region, Nantong has attracted over 500 Japanese-funded enterprises to invest and operate here, leading to a strong demand for logistics and transportation to Japan.

The flight only takes three hours to reach Tokyo, and the return cargo can be brought back to Nantong on the same day, achieving a round trip in half a day, effectively reducing operating costs for businesses.

The planned schedule for this route is to operate flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to better meet the freight transportation needs of cross-border e-commerce, industrial, and commercial customers in Nantong and its surrounding areas.

Moving forward, Nantong Customs will continue to promote the construction of smart customs, further implement measures to facilitate cross-border trade, enhance the cargo consolidation capacity of local ports, and help continuously optimize the business environment at ports.