AirAsia is excited about China’s reopening as the airline is resuming flights to the mainland and along with it belly cargo space through logistics venture Teleport.

A total of 18 cargo routes into China are expected to resume in March, with plans to increase to 40 routes by the third quarter this year from Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

The digital freight forwarder has gone a long way since 2018 when AirAsia consolidated its belly capacity under a single comprehensive network. Today, Teleport is an air logistics solutions provider with an extensive intra-Asia network. It uses full freighters and the belly space of 205 aircraft to transport shipments.

Teleport moved 1.24 million tonnes of cargo out of China through on AirAsia passenger flights back in 2019, and it anticipates doubling its growth in the Chinese market. The company is bolstering its fleet with one of three A321 freighters expected to arrive this year. It plans to deploy a dedicated freighter to be assigned for China–Kuala Lumpur in 2023, which will allow it to transport specialised, palletised cargo, and dangerous cargo that are restricted on the plane belly.

Celia Lao, country head for China, Hong Kong and Macau, said the top four cargo destinations are Malaysia, Thailand, India and Australia.

Pete Chareonwongsak, chief executive at Teleport, said the goal is to “teleport it” across Asean faster and more affordably than anyone else. “We are equipped to become the preferred player for the fastest and most efficient air logistics solutions across Asean. China reopening is important in helping us achieve our ambition towards ASEAN leadership in terms of market share in 2023.