Top 10 cargo routes stories of 2025

As air cargo traffic has been steadily increasing in the second half of 2025, certain trade lanes are rising while others are seeing contraction. Trade lanes from China to Europe have grown more robust in recent months, while the China-North America lane has contracted — a likely result of tariffs and the ongoing trade war, analysts agree. Geopolitical tensions have also changed the face of air cargo; for instance, ongoing issues in the Red Sea caused shippers to rely more heavily on air cargo. All of this has led freighter operators to create new routes to better serve their customers and the changing demand. Here are the ten most-read stories on routes reported by Cargo Facts in 2025. 1. 7Air to launch 737-800F service to Guyana from Miami [caption id="attachment_57149010" align="alignright" width="300"] (Courtesy/7Air)[/caption] Miami-based cargo carrier 7Air launched 737-800F operations to Georgetown, Guyana (GEO), in partnership with logistics company Air Cargo Pack Guyana, in October. The weekly service between Miami (MIA) and GEO carries perishables, pharmaceuticals, industrial equipment, retail goods and e-commerce shipments. Guyana has the highest real GDP growth rate in the world, averaging 47% per year since 2022, the International Monetary Fund said in a report released in May. Guyana’s economy is expected to grow about 14% per year during the next five years, the IMF said. 2. Air China Cargo doubles A330-200 freighter service from China to Scotland Air China Cargo doubled its weekly A330-200 freighter service at Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) in Scotland to eight, adding four flights from Chengdu, China (CTU), in November. The carrier had launched a route between PIK and Guangzhou, China (CAN), in June. That route initially ran three times a week but later expanded to four to meet demand. PIK invested $1.3 million in cold chain equipment and personnel to support seafood exports from Scotland to China, the airport said in September. The airport created a dedicated cold chain team and installed high-volume metal detectors, temperature-monitoring systems and four chillers with a combined capacity of eighty-seven tonnes. 3. Cargo Chat: Air France-KLM maximizes small freighter fleet in route planning Before launching a new cargo route, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP) considers multiple factors, including demand, airport infrastructure, aircraft needs and regulatory compliance. “We have a couple of factors that trigger network changes,” Carl Hendriks, director of network planning and full freighter management at AFKLMP, told Cargo Facts in April. “They can be commercial, like new opportunities, new flows, connections, customers reaching out. But also, geopolitical dynamics could be a trigger to change the network.” 4. Air One to launch scheduled 747F service [caption id="attachment_57146418" align="alignright" width="300"] (Courtesy/East Midlands Airport)[/caption] Air One launched scheduled 747-400 freighter flights on Sept. 2, expanding its cargo network with regular service connecting key markets in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The service includes four weekly flights from East Midlands (EMA) in the U.K. and Liege (LGG) to Dubai World Central (DWC) and Hong Kong (HKG). Flights are operated by One Air, Air One’s U.K.-based cargo airline affiliate. “Launching scheduled cargo services is a new strategic step for Air One and a natural extension and progression of our successful charter and wet lease operations,” Chief Commercial Officer Peter Scholten said in a release. “The introduction of scheduled services will now strengthen our market position and is in response to the customer demand we see in these key markets.” 5. Airfreight demand, infrastructure key to route strategy Top considerations when planning new freighter routes include shifting markets and demand, as well as airport infrastructure. Airlines must also consider their existing routes to ensure a new route brings maximum benefits. Cargo leaders from Turkish Airlines and Emirates SkyCargo agree that implementing routes is a matter of addressing new trends in a timely manner while taking the necessary time to consider a new route from every angle, they said during the webinar “Air cargo route networks: Strategies for improved results and greater efficiencies,” presented Sept. 16 by Cargo Facts . 6. Avianca Cargo launches routes to MST, FLN Avianca Cargo expanded its network this autumn with two weekly flights to Maastricht Aachen (MST) in the Netherlands and an additional weekly flight to Florianopolis (FLN) in Brazil. The carrier launched A330-200F service to MST from MIA on Oct. 7. This new route connects Quito (UIO) in Ecuador, MIA, MST and Zaragoza (ZAZ) in Spain, supporting Avianca Cargo in importing flowers from South America to Europe. Avianca Cargo added a second weekly freighter flight between MIA and FLN on Oct. 12 with an A330-200F. The carrier had been flying to FLN on a weekly basis since November 2023. 7. Route management: Flexibility and speed count in the face of crisis [caption id="attachment_57288360" align="alignright" width="300"] (Courtesy/FedEx)[/caption] When natural disaster or war restricts flights in certain regions, air cargo carriers must demonstrate flexibility and shift their operations to ensure supply chains remain intact. When Russian airspace closed to U.S. carriers in 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine, carriers were forced to make fuel and route adjustments to account for longer travel times on Asia-Europe routes. For example, FedEx quickly added a tech stop at its Dubai International Airport (DXB) hub to accommodate crew changes, giving pilots adequate time to rest, FedEx told Cargo Facts in August. 8. Awesome Cargo begins trans-Pac cherry charters with A330-200P2F Mexico-based Awesome Cargo became the newest carrier to operate full-freighter charters carrying cherries from Chile to China as the peak season for the fruit got underway in November. The new route, operated by an A330-200P2F, brings the fruit from Santiago, Chile (SCL), to Hangzhou, China (HGH). For more than ten years, Chile has been the leading supplier of cherries to China, delivering more than 90% of the country’s crop to the Chinese market. China accounted for the majority of the $3.75 billion in cherry sales that Chile generated in 2024, according to trade publication Cherry Times. 9. Cargo Chat: Alaska’s new SEA-NRT route will bring opportunities With the combined force of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines following their merger in September 2024, the carriers are expanding their reach with new routes from Seattle (SEA) to Asia, specifically Narita, Japan (NRT), and Incheon, South Korea (ICN). “We have three times the number of potential routes than we had separately,” Ian Morgan, vice president of cargo at Alaska Airlines, told Cargo Facts in April. “That is one of the strengths we will be playing on very heavily.” Morgan said Alaska Airlines, the only scheduled passenger airline in the United States to also operate its own freighters, will continue to explore route development. 10. Cathay resumes flights to ADL for first time since 2020 [caption id="attachment_57292960" align="alignright" width="300"] Cathay last flew to Adelaide before the pandemic. (Courtesy/Adelaide Airport)[/caption] Cathay Pacific resumed operations to Adelaide, Australia (ADL), for the first time in more than five years with an A350-900 passenger jet in November. The nonstop service, which will operate seasonally through March 2026, flies from HKG to ADL and back three times a week. Cathay Pacific launched service to ADL in 1992, but halted operations in March 2020 due to the pandemic. “With a 15-tonne cargo hold on the A350, up to 45 tonnes of South Australian products will be able to be transported in the belly of the plane each week while flights run,” Joe Szakacs, South Australia’s trade and investment minister, said in a release. Cargo Facts will present four invaluable events for airfreight professionals in the first half of 2026, starting with Cargo Facts LATAM, on Feb. 10-12. To see the agendas and register for the events, visit CargoFactsEvents.com .

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