A recent performance evaluation of comprehensive bonded zones nationwide, released by the General Administration of Customs, showed the Haikou Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone moving up 10 spots in the rankings. The zone's total import and export value saw a massive 227.6% year-on-year increase last year, securing a spot in the top 10 of the national "improvement list."

The Path to a 100-Billion-Yuan Maintenance Industry

How is this hundred-billion-yuan maintenance industry being forged? What makes Hainan Free Trade Port's aircraft maintenance services so attractive to global airlines? A recent visit to the zone explored the path to this "hundred-billion-level" industrial leap.

How to Grow? Focusing on the Aircraft Maintenance Track

Recently, an Airbus A330-200F cargo aircraft from Hungary arrived at the Hainan Free Trade Port's one-stop aircraft maintenance base. It is receiving a high-level 12-year check (C-check) from the HNA Technic-owned Grand China Aircraft Maintenance Service Company. This marks the first Hungarian inbound aircraft maintenance order for the Hainan Free Trade Port. As of the end of June this year, HNA Technic has completed over 3,000 aircraft maintenance tasks at the base, serving over 50 domestic and international airlines and aircraft leasing companies, with many overseas carriers becoming repeat customers.

HNA Technic's maintenance schedule is fully booked through the end of the year, and it's expected that orders for overseas aircraft maintenance will exceed 100 aircraft this year. Meanwhile, the high-value-added segment of aircraft engine maintenance is also accelerating. Since its launch, Haikou Meilan Airport GEnx-1B Engine Maintenance Engineering Company has delivered 38 repaired GEnx-1B engines. In July of this year, it obtained the EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) license for GEnx-1B engine overhaul, becoming a rare "triple-certified" aircraft engine maintenance company in China.

Having three major certifications solidifies our advantage as the only full-level authorized maintenance service provider for GEnx-1B engines in mainland China, noted the company's president. Currently, the Haikou Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone has established two major specialized platforms: one-stop aircraft maintenance and aircraft engine maintenance. It has gathered five leading aviation maintenance companies, holds 24 international maintenance licenses, and has 2,300 component maintenance certifications, placing its comprehensive maintenance capabilities in the top tier domestically. Last year, the zone's aviation maintenance operating revenue exceeded 6.3 billion yuan, with total industrial output value growing 53% year-on-year.

How to Strengthen? Innovation as the New Engine for Development

Why are overseas airlines becoming repeat customers? The answer lies in the continuous release of the policy advantages of the "Free Trade Port + Comprehensive Bonded Zone." An investment promotion director from the Jiangdong New Area Administration calculated the benefits: The Haikou Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone has innovatively introduced a new model for duty-free aircraft maintenance services. Combining zero-tariff and bonded supervision policies, it reduces comprehensive maintenance costs for companies by 15%. The implementation of a "direct entry into the zone" supervision mechanism for registered engines saves nearly 30,000 yuan in logistics costs per engine.

Currently, the Haikou Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone is accelerating the construction of an "integrated four-in-one innovation system" encompassing bonded maintenance, zero-tariff aviation materials, financial leasing, and aircraft dismantling. It is promoting its "one-stop aircraft maintenance service model" as a national innovation case for replication. 23 leading financial leasing companies have gathered, with cumulative asset placement exceeding 40 billion yuan. Diverse business types, such as bonded aviation material warehousing and cross-border e-commerce, are being developed simultaneously, continuously releasing the industrial cluster effect.

In the next step, the zone will introduce a special talent support policy for aviation maintenance, accelerate the introduction of aviation materials manufacturing and civil aviation research institutions, strengthen the full-lifecycle bonded maintenance industry for aircraft, and build a benchmark for the Free Trade Port's airport-linked bonded industry.