Air cargo increase linked to ‘slave goods’ from China

August 13, 2025 | Freight News by FTW

According to analysis by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), air freight connections between Xinjiang – where an estimated one million Uyghurs are detained in camps and prisons – have rapidly expanded to include more than a dozen cities across Europe.

The UHRP has flagged London, Bournemouth and Cardiff as some of the locations for landed “slave goods”.

Since June 2024, nine cargo airlines have initiated direct freight routes into Europe.

By May this year, air freight from Xinjiang had increased to more than 40 weekly flights.

UHRP’s report warns that this growth has effectively created a direct trade artery from a region accused by human rights advocates of state-backed forced labour and atrocity crimes.

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).

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