China Airlines Cargo is to commence a regular freighter service to Chennai from Taipei. This is mainly to cater to the growing air shipment in electronic items to the city from Taiwan and mainland China. The airline, which belongs to China Airlines, is likely to commence from May with a Boeing 747 category freighter, according to Chennai Airport Director, Mr E. P. Hareendranath. “They have sought a permission to commence the operations. We are looking at it,” he told Business Line .

The service to Chennai will be the second Indian destination for China Airlines Cargo, which operates a freighter to New Delhi. Between Taipei and Chennai, the freighter will have stopovers in transhipment hubs such as Singapore or Kuala Lumpur to pick up cargoes. It has a similar service to Colombo too.

China's Largest airline

China Airlines is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of China. Although not directly state-owned, the airline is owned by China Airlines Group, which is owned by the China Aviation Development Foundation. The foundation is in turn owned by the Government of the Republic of China.

The airline, with headquarters in and flight operations from Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei, flies to destinations in Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania.

China Airlines' wholly owned subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines, manages regional flights to secondary cities with smaller capacity requirements.

China Airlines' cargo division China Airlines Cargo operates CAL's dedicated freighter fleet, and manages the cargo-hold capacity in CAL's passenger aircraft.

In February, the Chennai airport handled 8,321 tonnes of import cargo, of which nearly 3,131 tonnes was electronics/electrical items. A substantial portion of electronic components come from Taiwan and mainland China to serve the needs of companies located in areas such as the electronic manufacturing hub of Sriperumbudur. As of February, 36 freighters operate out of Chennai. The line flights during the month was 1,052 with a total cargo handling of 19,843 tonnes - exports 11,523 tonnes and imports were 8,321 tonnes.

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