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China Cargo Airlines postpones start of first Miami service

Carrier to open direct connection between China and South Florida

A China Cargo Airlines 777 freighter on final approach to Los Angeles International Airport on Dec. 6, 2022. (Photo: Shutterstock/GingChen)

China Cargo Airlines has postponed until April plans to launch scheduled freighter service to Miami, which will make it the first Chinese carrier to operate between the city and mainland China.

Worldwide Flight Services had announced in December that the all-cargo airline would begin three weekly flights this month, utilizing Boeing 777s, from its base in Shanghai to Miami International Airport and had awarded WFS a three-year contract to process shipments between aircraft and logistics customers.

The inaugural flight has been pushed back until April 2, said Indira Almeida-Pardillo, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, without giving a reason for the delay.

“We don’t have any definitive information to share with you,” said Sunny He, a marketing and sales representative at China Cargo Airlines, in response to a reporter’s query.


China Cargo’s fleet consists of 14 Boeing 777 cargo jets. Flights to Miami will carry a range of shipments, including e-commerce, electronics, and seafood and other perishable items.

The airline operates 18 freighter services per week to Los Angeles International Airport and 20 flights per week to Seattle, many of which continue on to Chicago and JFK airport in New York.

In November, a CCA cargo jet was forced to return to JFK shortly after takeoff because a bird strike disabled one of the two engines.

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Contact reporter: ekulisch@freightwaves.com 

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com