FedEx Express, a cargo airline subsidiary of FedEx, has announced an updated schedule of operations for its new Asia-Pacific hub at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China. Now in the testing phase, this hub is expected to be fully operational in the first half of 2009.

The revised operations date provides FedEx with the necessary time to fully test all systems and processes, as well as work closely with the Guangzhou authorities to ensure all necessary approvals are in place.

According to the company, significant progress has been made in key areas over the past several months, including construction, IT, employee training, and the installation of the hub's package and sorting system, comprised of 16 high-speed sorting lines, seven round-out conveyer belts, as well as a total of 90 primary and secondary document-sorting splits.

David Cunningham Jr, president of Asia-Pacific at FedEx Express, said: "Since we announced plans for a new FedEx Asia-Pacific hub in Guangzhou in 2005, we have achieved many important milestones toward our vision of delivering growth while providing our customers with expanded access to the global marketplace."