Alibaba’ logistics arm Cainiao Network plans to launch direct cargo flights between Singapore and Hainan to ferry duty-free international products, including signature handbags and watches, to satisfy the insatiable demand for luxury brands in China.

The logistics company is launching seven charter flights per week between Singapore and the Chinese free trade port via travel hotspots Sanya and Haikou. It also plans to open more direct cargo routes to link Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Europe to Hainan.

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Cainiao will run five direct flights between Haikou and Singapore each week and two weekly flights connecting Singapore, Sanya and Guangzhou. The company expects the new routes to help Chinese exporters and enhance trilateral trade between Singapore, Hainan and China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA).

“Imported goods will be able to arrive in Hainan from Singapore within 3 hours, and be ready for sale in duty-free shops within 12 hours after clearing customs and dispatched from the warehouse,” Cainiao noted.

“Before these direct flights were launched, it normally takes two to three days to import goods to Hainan as they had to first land in Shenzhen or Guangzhou, before being transported to Hainan via trucks and ferries,” the company added.