A Boeing 787 wide-body plane loaded with parcels took off from south China's Shenzhen for Tel Aviv in Israel on Tuesday, marking the opening of the weekly cross-border e-commerce charter cargo flight between the two cities.

Hainan Airlines launched a direct flight between Shenzhen and Tel Aviv in 2019. Partnered with Cainiao, Alibaba's logistics subsidiary, and Guangzhou Hayonex Logistics Company, the airline company transformed the passenger plane into a cargo plane for the service.

According to the Shenzhen airport, besides the original cargo hold, the passenger cabin with over 200 seats has been turned into a big cargo space, which adds another 10 tonnes of cargo carrying capacity.

The parcels were mainly daily products ordered online by Israelis, the airport said.

Statistics from Cainiao showed that the number of logistics orders from China to Israel in April has returned to the pre-pandemic level. So far, the company has activated over 200 cargo planes to meet the surging demands of overseas customers.