Uni-Top Airlines, a privately held cargo carrier based at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, has ceased operations. The financially troubled carrier was a fully owned subsidiary of Shenzhen-based logistics group Uni-Top Industrial Corp.
Chinese media report the company is trying to restructure and resume operations.
Uni-Top was the first Chinese private airline to operate long-haul cargo aircraft. The carrier provided scheduled and non-scheduled service, operating B-747 and A330-600 aircraft. Uni-Top operated cargo flights from China to India, Bangladesh, Luxembourg, Dubai, Malaysia and Japan.
The carrier had applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for authority to operate thrice-weekly scheduled service between Wuhan and Chicago beginning in late 2019. Long-term plans called for serving the entire European, South American, Asian and African markets.
From the carrier’s Luxembourg hub, outbound service focused on automotive parts, particularly from Germany and the U.K., while inbound flights to Europe carried electronic products, fashion and machine parts.