Volga-Dnepr Group’s express carrier Atran Airlines has begun flying between Moscow and Xi’an.

According to Atran, the new flight is operated with a Boeing 737-400SF freighter. The airline plans to deploy a 737-800BCF on the route to be able to guarantee up to 23 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight.

Xi’an Xianyang International Airport is the second-largest airport in Northern China and hopes to attract more air cargo carriers to accommodate the growth of cross-border e-commerce shipments between China and Russia.

“Embracing new destinations and leveraging emerging markets for cross-border shipments are on the radar of our business development,” said Dmitry Obsharov, general director of Atran Airlines. “With global e-commerce growing at 20% per year and forecast for a nearly 15% 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. Being part of the Belt and Road initiative, this ancient capital of China will undergo developments which will facilitate its transformation into a multimodal hub with emerging volumes going through the airport.”

Atran Airlines currently operates a fleet of four 737-400SFs and one 737-800BCF from its hub in Moscow.