In January, reeling under the impact of the global financial crisis, the Guangdong provincial capital’s airport suffered a 34.9% year-on-year drop in cargo throughput, while its mail throughput rose 41.4% year on year.
In February, when FedEx started operating its Asia-Pacific hub, Baiyun Airport’s mail handling shot up 482% year on year to 16,915 tons, while cargo only showed 0.9% growth.
Since then, both numbers have been rising steadily.
In July, mail going though Baiyun Airport soared 917% to 26,136 tons, while cargo grew 5.3% to 56,796 tons from a year ago.
Baiyun Airport has given substantial discounts on cargo handling fees to Fedex, which uses the airport’s runways to land its planes.
Every week, 136 flights land at Baiyun Airport to serve Fedex.
CargoNews Asia reports that the sorting process at Fedex’s Guangzhou hub is so automated that pre-recorded voice messages tell workers if they have put packages in the right place or not. Employees can even choose a male or female voice.