Hainan bridges global markets with direct flights

Haikou Meilan International Airport. [Photo/Hainan Daily]

Hainan is accelerating the promotion of air transport opening-up. To date, it has launched 79 international passenger routes covering 21 countries and 39 cities. Compared with 2024, the number of routes and passenger throughput have increased by 30 percent and 31 percent respectively.

Hainan boasts China's most convenient visa-free policy, allowing citizens from 86 countries to enter directly with passports. Geographically, its 4-hour flight circle covers 21 Asian countries and regions, accounting for approximately 47 percent of the global population, while the eight-hour flight circle covers 59 countries and regions, about 67 percent of the global population.

The province has established an express route network with cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou domestically. Internationally, it has built three express routes (Hainan-Hong Kong, Hainan-Bangkok, Hainan-Singapore) and international routes directly connecting to Europe, Australia-New Zealand, Northeast Asia and Russian-speaking regions.

Haikou Customs has introduced technological measures including intelligent image inspection and pre-inspection automatic sealing to ensure convenient customs clearance for cross-border passengers. Regarding airport construction, Hainan Airport Group is advancing the Phase III Expansion Projects of Sanya Phoenix and Boao airports.

In the freight sector, Georgian Airways has cooperated with Hainan's two major civil airports to launch all-cargo routes, opening new international trade channels. Among them, the Tbilisi-Haikou-Milan and Tbilisi-Sanya-Milan routes have promoted the flow of cross-border e-commerce, duty-free and high-end consumer goods between Hainan and Europe.

Haikou Customs values the development of cross-border e-commerce. Institutionally, it supports enterprises to carry out online shopping bonded import commodity display relying on comprehensive bonded zones to release policy dividends. In terms of management, it optimizes processes and implements "one-stop" handling and online appointments for cross-border parcels to ensure customs clearance efficiency. Regarding services, it implements preferential policies for comprehensive pilot zones and adopts convenient measures like "simplified declaration, clearance based on manifest and periodic consolidation" for eligible export commodities to help enterprises reduce costs and increase efficiency.