Shanghai Joins Prestwick’s Growing China Network as Air China Marks First Anniversary
- Ayrshire Daily News
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
The month of celebration continues as Air China Prestwick’s freight flights mark their first anniversary, and Shanghai joins the destination list for Scottish exporters.
Doug Maclean, Aviation Editor
Ayrshire Daily News was invited to attend the anniversary of the first Air China flight arrival last week. We were delighted to meet a very special guest on the huge Boeing 777 freighter.
Guohong Du is Air China’s General Manager Cargo for the UK and Ireland. She attended the celebration and talked about the success of the first full year of operating between China and Scotland.
Du said: “I am really pleased to have such an exceptional partner as Prestwick Airport, and thanks very much for their continued support. We have now grown from four to 11 flights per week. I am very confident that, in the future, we will keep supporting each other and will grow together. Air China Cargo has set up its UK sales office at Prestwick and I am so happy to work here.”
As the freight was swiftly unloaded from China and the outbound cargo waited to be loaded, we even got Nico Le Roux, Prestwick’s Business Development Director, to try his hand at interviewing Colin Dai, Prestwick’s Business Development Director for Asia, especially for the Ayrshire Daily News audience.
Nico revealed that the aircraft that afternoon was going out as the first flight on a new service direct to Shanghai. He told us: “Especially for producers of fresh Scottish seafood, it is very important to note that the Shanghai market is probably as big as the rest of China combined.”
He described Colin Dai, who has worked for Prestwick Airport in China for nearly two years, as “instrumental in making this happen for Air China. They now have 11 flights a week.”
Colin was asked how he had started to get momentum in the Chinese market. He explained: “This time has been an amazing journey. For us, it made a great difference to have the state-owned airline, the flag carrier, Air China, decide to make the commitment and put the flights to Glasgow Prestwick Airport. We are very glad to have them, and this is a celebration moment for us.”
Asked about the new Shanghai route, Colin revealed that Prestwick is his Scottish base and that Shanghai is his home city. Colin even joked that he would like to “get a lift one day on the Air China Cargo flight direct to home.” He went on to say that the new service was very exciting for Scottish exporters because Shanghai gives them direct access to the whole of East China.
Analysts say the route through Shanghai is expected to generate significant export volumes, not only in fresh seafood but also in non-food cargo.
Shanghai today is a super-modern city of unbelievable quality. It is home to 24 million people and is known as one of the world’s shopping capitals.
It is also one of Asia’s main air freight hubs, with flights to nearly every city in the Far East. Air China is moving three of its Boeing 777 freighters onto this route. Each aircraft can carry about 110 tonnes of freight on every flight.
Air China will still have a total of 11 flights per week between Prestwick and a variety of destinations in China. China Southern Cargo operates four, and Ethiopian Airlines has recently started three flights from Hong Kong.
One year after the first scheduled flight arrived, that equates to an incredible 18 flights each way between Prestwick and China every week of the year.
Very firm links to Prestwick are already established by Chinese manufacturers who export to the UK. Bringing Scottish and UK premium products direct to Shanghai is expected to be highly popular and profitable for the airline and UK exporters.
“Shanghai is a major global cargo hub and an important addition to Prestwick’s scheduled China services,” said Ian Forgie, Chief Executive Officer, Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
Ian continued: “This new route gives cargo customers more choice across mainland China and strengthens our ability to support fast-growing e-commerce traffic into the United Kingdom.”
The routes to China are constantly setting new milestones.
Royal Mail and Evri recently celebrated processing more than 25 million e-commerce parcels coming through Prestwick. More than one million kilograms of Scottish salmon have been exported through Prestwick since 1 January 2026 alone.
0However, route development work never stops. Prestwick will exhibit at the Air Cargo China (Shanghai) trade fair from 24–26 June, seeking further trade opportunities that could bring more jobs and prosperity to the Ayrshire community.
No wonder they call Prestwick the heart of Scottish aviation.
