ZHENGZHOU — The Chinese mainland launched its first regular cargo air route to Athens, the capital of Greece, in Central China's Henan province.

The route started operation from Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province, to Athens on the evening of April 18. Its first flight, carried out by a B757-200F plane, was loaded with goods such as clothes, toys and shoes.

Currently, the route has two air cargo flights every week and is expected to expand its service to four flights a week according to market changes in the future.

As of mid-April, the cargo throughput via the airport in Zhengzhou this year has exceeded 200,000 metric tons, up 69 percent year-on-year, making the city one of China's major hubs.