A flight departs from Yantai Penglai International Airport to Milan, Italy on Dec 17. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_5ec6eb206937]

Yantai, a coastal city of East China's Shandong province, opened its first scheduled international cargo airline from Yantai Penglai International Airport to Milan, Italy on Dec 17.

The aircraft on the route is a Flight Airbus A330 model and is operated by China Eastern with three flights every week.

The route will deepen cooperation and exchanges between Yantai and European cities and will also play an important role in promoting international logistics development and accelerating foreign trade in Yantai.

As of Dec 17, Yantai has opened six cargo airlines connecting Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Vladivostok, Hanoi, and Milan. The airport has 53 cargo flight departures a week.

The cargo throughput of Yantai Penglai International Airport is expected to reach 74,000 tons in 2021, according to officials.

In recent years, Yantai has made great efforts to develop international air logistics and expand cargo airlines linking Japan, South Korea, and Russia as well as European countries.

Yantai is planning to open cargo airlines to Nagoya, Japan and countries in South America, in an effort to build a global network of international air cargo routes.