China Eastern Airlines’ logistics arm struck another milestone for China’s air-freight ambitions on November 2, 2025, when it formally unveiled a Shanghai–Riyadh–Budapest all-cargo service granted fifth-freedom traffic rights. Operating as flight CK251, the inaugural Boeing 777F is scheduled to depart Shanghai Pudong at 02:30 on November 3, touch down in Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport for trans-shipment, and continue to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport the same morning.
The ‘fifth-freedom’ designation is significant. It allows the carrier to pick up and drop off freight between two foreign points—in this case Saudi Arabia and Hungary—on a route that originates in China. Until now, Chinese carriers largely relied on point-to-point or bilateral cargo rights. The new authority opens an alternative corridor between East Asia, the Gulf and Central Europe at a time when Red Sea disruptions and capacity shortages are pushing shippers toward air as a hedge against ocean-freight delays.
![China Eastern Launches First Middle-East Fifth-Freedom Cargo Route Linking Shanghai, Riyadh and Budapest]()
China and Saudi Arabia are celebrating the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, and bilateral trade in emerging sectors such as green tech, EVs and AI has been growing at double-digit rates. Eastern’s logistics planners say Riyadh will serve as a regional consolidation hub for e-commerce parcels, high-value electronics and temperature-controlled medical supplies destined for Europe. In Hungary, Budapest Airport’s ‘Eastern-Gate’ cargo terminal has spent the past two years upgrading cold-chain capacity specifically to lure Asian carriers. The three-times-weekly rotation will shave 24–36 hours off multimodal routings that previously required trans-loading in Frankfurt or Istanbul.
For multinational exporters, the route offers a dedicated China–Gulf–EU option just ahead of the year-end peak season. Forwarders note that securing main-deck capacity ex-China has become more difficult as passenger belly-hold space remains below 2019 levels. Companies shipping electronics from Suzhou to Saudi distributors, or fashion goods from Yiwu wholesalers to Central European fulfilment centres, will gain from later cut-off times in Shanghai and same-day clearance in Budapest.
China Eastern Logistics says that beyond general freight, it is targeting cross-border e-commerce merchants on platforms such as AliExpress and Temu, whose delivery-time guarantees depend on predictable uplift. The airline also hinted at future fifth-freedom add-ons deeper into Europe once bilateral accords are in place. In the medium term, analysts see the move as part of Beijing’s wider strategy to diversify freight corridors under the Belt and Road framework and to project Chinese carriers as network builders rather than pure origin-and-destination players.
The ‘fifth-freedom’ designation is significant. It allows the carrier to pick up and drop off freight between two foreign points—in this case Saudi Arabia and Hungary—on a route that originates in China. Until now, Chinese carriers largely relied on point-to-point or bilateral cargo rights. The new authority opens an alternative corridor between East Asia, the Gulf and Central Europe at a time when Red Sea disruptions and capacity shortages are pushing shippers toward air as a hedge against ocean-freight delays.
China and Saudi Arabia are celebrating the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, and bilateral trade in emerging sectors such as green tech, EVs and AI has been growing at double-digit rates. Eastern’s logistics planners say Riyadh will serve as a regional consolidation hub for e-commerce parcels, high-value electronics and temperature-controlled medical supplies destined for Europe. In Hungary, Budapest Airport’s ‘Eastern-Gate’ cargo terminal has spent the past two years upgrading cold-chain capacity specifically to lure Asian carriers. The three-times-weekly rotation will shave 24–36 hours off multimodal routings that previously required trans-loading in Frankfurt or Istanbul.
For multinational exporters, the route offers a dedicated China–Gulf–EU option just ahead of the year-end peak season. Forwarders note that securing main-deck capacity ex-China has become more difficult as passenger belly-hold space remains below 2019 levels. Companies shipping electronics from Suzhou to Saudi distributors, or fashion goods from Yiwu wholesalers to Central European fulfilment centres, will gain from later cut-off times in Shanghai and same-day clearance in Budapest.
China Eastern Logistics says that beyond general freight, it is targeting cross-border e-commerce merchants on platforms such as AliExpress and Temu, whose delivery-time guarantees depend on predictable uplift. The airline also hinted at future fifth-freedom add-ons deeper into Europe once bilateral accords are in place. In the medium term, analysts see the move as part of Beijing’s wider strategy to diversify freight corridors under the Belt and Road framework and to project Chinese carriers as network builders rather than pure origin-and-destination players.
