MOSCOW: April 16, 2019. Atran Airlines, part of the Volga-Dnepr Group, has launched a service between Xi'an, China, with Moscow with support from Russian Post.

Despite being the second largest airport in Northern China, Atran says Xi'an Xianyang is not congested and is encouraging air cargo airlines to support the growth of cross-border e-commerce shipments between China and Russia.

The first Atran flight was operated by a B737-400SF freighter that the company says will be replaced with recently acquired B737-800BCF capacity to guarantee up to 23 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight.

“Embracing new destinations and leveraging emerging markets for cross-border shipments are on the radar of our business development,” explained Atran Airlines general director Dmitry Obsharov. “With global e-commerce forecast for a nearly 15 percent uptick in Russia over the next three-four years, the demand for high-quality air cargo services will be high. We are ready to guarantee this in close partnership with Russian Post and China Post.”

Obsharov added the expansion of China’s ancient capital Xi'an will transform it into a multimodal hub with growing airport volumes.

Pictured: Atran Airlines’ crew at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport before the first flight departure to Moscow.