Europe: Research reveals surge in cargo flights exposes supply chains to Uyghur forced labour risks

July 31, 2025 | Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

The report, Manifest Risk: New “Air Silk Road” Cargo Flights Carry Risk of Uyghur Forced Labor into Europe, documents how, since June 2024, nine cargo companies have launched new air freight services between Ürümchi and destinations in the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), and Switzerland.

“These cargo routes are not just logistical developments, they represent a dangerous normalization of trade with a region where atrocity crimes are ongoing and forced labor is widespread,” said Peter Irwin, Associate Director for Research and Advocacy at the Uyghur Human Rights Project. “Goods transported on these flights are at high risk of being produced through a system of state-imposed forced labor that is integral to a broader campaign of repression targeting the Uyghurs.”

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On July 14, 2025, the authors sent emails to Alpha Sky, Camex Airlines, European Cargo, Geo-Sky, MNG Airlines, My Freighter, MyWay Airlines, SF Airlines, Silk Way Airlines, Titan Airways, and Uzbekistan Airways informing them that their company had been named in a forthcoming report. [T]hree companies’ responses can be found online.

Cited: Report by Peter Irwin and Dr. Henryk Szadziewski (Manifest Risk: New “Air Silk Road” Cargo Flights Carry Risk of Uyghur Forced Labor into Europe).

Read the full article: https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/europe-research-reveals-surge-in-cargo-flights-exposes-supply-chains-to-uyghur-forced-labour-risks