February 1, 2019 — As the Chinese New Year holiday draws near, fresh and live seafood is being flown into the country via jumbo jets with increasing frequency, according to a number of recent reports.
Earlier this month, Chinese firm Niannian Youyu (Fishforever) chartered a Boeing 747 carrying 50 metric tons of fresh Norwegian salmon from Oslo, Norway into Tianjin, China, Seafood Guide reported. Developed by the Fish Group, the “Norwegian-Tianjin Salmon Charter Intercontinental Regular Route” is expected to be used twice a week to fly Norwegian salmon to China, carrying from 50 to 100 metric tons per shift, the website said.
Avinor, Norway’s state-owned operator of civil airports, confirmed on 18 January that Slovakian air cargo company Air Cargo Global had begun flying Norwegian seafood to China in the first direct freighter flight between the two countries. The worldwide airfreight company said it aims to route Norwegian seafood from Oslo to Tianjin, a coastal metropolis in northern China, on Thursdays and Saturdays.
“We aim to step up to three weekly departures from March, if the market responds well to the increased capacity,” Peter Scholten, chief commercial officer of Air Cargo Global, said in a press release.