South China's Haikou Meilan International Airport on Sunday officially opened an international cargo route between Haikou and Bournemouth of the United Kingdom.

This is the first international cargo route to be put into operation from south China's island province of Hainan to the UK.

An aircraft departed from Bournemouth International Airport and arrived in Haikou on Saturday, with the same plane then being loaded with 51 tons of cargo and flown back to Bournemouth the next day.

According to reports, the route is being operated by the European Cargo airline, who is based in Bournemouth and run a fleet of Airbus freighter jets.

Following the inauguration, three flights are expected to be operated between the two destinations per week.