Glasgow Prestwick Airport opens direct Air China Cargo route to Shanghai Pudong

Glasgow Prestwick Airport has confirmed a new direct cargo route to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, operated by Air China Cargo, expanding the Scottish airport's scheduled China network and opening a new trade lane for Scottish exporters to one of Asia's leading freight hubs.

According to Aviation Business News, Air China Cargo is switching three of its four weekly Boeing 777 services from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to Shanghai Pudong, while continuing to operate 11 scheduled flights each week to and from Prestwick. The airport now operates 15 weekly scheduled services to and from mainland China and three from Hong Kong.

Ian Forgie, chief executive at Glasgow Prestwick, said the new route gave cargo customers more choice across mainland China and strengthened the airport's ability to support fast-growing e-commerce traffic into the United Kingdom. "It also opens a valuable new trade lane for Scottish exporters, including producers moving premium seafood and other time-sensitive goods into Asia," he said.

The announcement follows a period of sustained cargo growth at Prestwick. The airport has processed more than 25 million e-commerce parcels in partnership with Royal Mail and EVRi since May 2025 and has recorded more than one million kilograms of Scottish salmon exported since 1 January 2026.

Shanghai Pudong is one of China's busiest international cargo gateways and a primary hub for both e-commerce fulfilment and time-sensitive perishable freight across the Asia-Pacific region. The addition of a direct Prestwick–Shanghai service provides Scottish producers with a more efficient routing to the Chinese market, reducing transit times compared with indirect connections through other European hub airports.

Read the full route announcement and cargo growth figures in the full story.