HAIKOU, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Even in October, the tropical heat lingers over Hainan, China's southernmost province. Near Haikou Meilan International Airport, the vast hangar of an aircraft maintenance base buzzes with activity.

An overseas aircraft undergoing maintenance inside a hangar at the one-stop aircraft maintenance base of the Hainan Free Trade Port. Photo by Zhang Liyun/Xinhua.

Inside the hangar, every bay is filled. And outside, planes bearing the colorful branding of airlines from around the world stand in neat lines, waiting their turn under the blazing island sun.

This busy scene at the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) One-Stop Aircraft Maintenance Base captures the island province's remarkable transformation into an aircraft maintenance hub, with the Hainan FTP becoming a new symbol of China's high-level opening-up.

Since operations began in 2022, the base has carried out maintenance work on more than 2,400 aircraft, completed full-body painting on over 280 planes, and undertaken repairs of about 60,000 aircraft components as of the end of September.

According to Helen Wang, chairperson and general manager of Haikou Airport Aircraft Engineering Co., Ltd, Hainan's location gives it an edge that few in the sector can match.

From the island, air routes connect easily to Southeast Asian destinations like Singapore and Vietnam, and extend farther to India, Europe and Africa.

"Within just four flight hours, aircraft departing from Hainan can reach 21 countries and regions, covering nearly 47 percent of the world's population," Wang said.

Positioned as China's gateway to the Indian and Pacific oceans, Hainan is a crucial aviation hub. Though Hainan is a small province, it has a big aviation industry, industry insiders have said.

Efficiency is another base hallmark. "Our painting efficiency ranks among the best in the world," Wang said. "A narrow-body jet can be fully repainted here in six days, and a wide-body jet in no more than 15 -- a process that used to take four to six months elsewhere."

That efficiency has drawn global clients like Qatar Airways, Royal Air Philippines and Iberia. Qatar Airways, for example, has entrusted all of its wide-body aircraft painting work to the Hainan base for the next three years.

Customs clearance is quick, duty-free materials are easily available, the team's responses are prompt, and the overall cost and service quality are unmatched, said Yang Wenbo, airport maintenance base deputy director of Grand China Aviation Maintenance Co., Ltd., which is under the Hainan-based HNA group.

Behind this success is a powerful policy framework. Under the Hainan FTP's favorable regulations, aircraft entering the region for maintenance are exempt from paying security deposits, and parts imported for repair benefit from a bonded status.

"These incentives can reduce maintenance costs by 10 to 15 percent," Wang said, calling them a "game-changer" for international clients.

To keep operations smooth, the airport customs office has opened a 24-hour green channel for aircraft clearance. The FTP has also built China's first bonded consignment warehouse for spare aviation parts, offering clients faster and cheaper access to materials.

The maintenance base is now running at full capacity. "Our hangar is full, and even the tarmac is packed," Yang said, gesturing toward the rows of aircraft gleaming in the sun. "We're booked through the end of 2026."

Hainan's policy support is expected to be amplified following the FTP's official launch of island-wide independent customs operations on Dec. 18.

This will likely attract even more international passenger and cargo flights, and with them, greater demand for high-quality aircraft maintenance services, Yang told Xinhua.

According to the base, the annual output value of its maintenance operations rose from 370 million yuan (about 52.15 million U.S. dollars) in 2022 to 650 million yuan in 2023, and to 820 million yuan in 2024. That figure is projected to reach 916 million yuan in 2025.