Astral Aviation has announced the re-start of its dedicated Haikou, China to Johannesburg, South Africa freighter service in partnership with Fly Noor Aviation.
Under the agreement, signed at Air Cargo China 2026 in Shanghai, Astral Aviation will operate twice-weekly scheduled freighter flights linking Haikou to Johannesburg via Nairobi.
The service will use Astral Aviation’s Boeing 767-300F, offering a 50-tonne payload capacity per flight.
The route is expected to support the growing movement of e-commerce shipments, electronics, consumer goods,
textiles, automotive parts, pharmaceuticals and general cargo from China into Africa, while facilitating exports of
perishables, agricultural products and other high-value African commodities into Asian markets.
The agreement was signed by Sanjeev Gadhia, chief executive of Astral Aviation, and Damanpreet Singh, chief executive of Fly Noor Aviation Services.
Gadhia said: “We are delighted to partner with Fly Noor Aviation Services in re-starting the Haikou–Johannesburg
freighter service. The agreement signed at Air Cargo China 2026 reflects our shared vision of building stronger logistics bridges between China and Africa.
“This dedicated twice-weekly service will provide customers with reliable capacity, faster transit times and seamless access to one of the world’s fastest-growing trade corridors.”
Singh commented: “Our partnership with Astral Aviation combines two organizations committed to delivering dependable, customer-focused air cargo solutions.
“We are excited to offer the market a scheduled service that meets the growing demand for efficient transportation between China and Africa while supporting the continued expansion of trade between both regions.”
Johannesburg will serve as the primary gateway for cargo distribution throughout southern, eastern and central Africa via Astral Aviation’s established regional network, while Haikou provides strategic access to one of China’s fastest-growing manufacturing, logistics and e-commerce centres.
In May, Astral Aviation launched a weekly freighter service between Nairobi, Kenya and Asmara, Eritrea to strengthen trade and logistics connectivity across the Horn of Africa and beyond.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)-hubbed Astral currently has three aircraft in its fleet. These include a Boeing 767-300 passenger to freighter (P2F) aircraft, a Boeing 767-200P2F and a Boeing 737-400P2F.
