(Yicai Global) Aug. 3 -- JD.com has been given the go-ahead by Chinese regulators to form its own freight airline, which will the country’s second private cargo carrier after SF Airlines belonging to China’s biggest express delivery firm SF Holding.

Jiangsu Jingdong Cargo Airlines, based at the Nantong Xingdong International Airport in southeastern Jiangsu province, will be engaged in domestic and international air cargo transportation, according to an announcement on the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s East China branch website today.

Suqian Jingdong Zhanrui Enterprise Management, which is owned by JD.com’s founder Richard Liu and two executives Li Yayun and Zhang Pang, will hold a 75 percent stake in the new carrier. Nantong Airport Group will own the rest.

JD Logistics runs over 100,000 air routes between 300 cities using partners such as Zhejiang Loong Airlines and China Central Longhao Airlines, the company’s logistics arm said in June. It recently added a new Shenzhen-Beijing all-freight route that flies six times a week, enhancing its delivery services. Fresh fruit such as lychees can be delivered to the doorsteps of consumers in northern China within 24 hours of being picked in sunny Guangdong province.

Shenzhen-based SF Airlines, which got the greenlight in 2009, had a fleet of 65 as of May.

Editor: Kim Taylor