Painting the future: Hainan Free Trade Port makes every international aircraft 'feel at home'

Whether they are vibrant colors swirling across a blank canvas in fine art or bold graffiti splashed on city walls, they embody the spirit of art and culture. Bold and vivid images often come to mind when people think of spray painting. But have you ever considered elevating this craft to an entirely different scale? Imagine painting and spraying color on a massive aircraft, transforming it into a flying masterpiece that soars through the skies.

At the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) One-Stop Aircraft Maintenance Industrial Base, this imaginative leap has become a reality. The base has emerged as a benchmark in the global aviation maintenance market, leveraging significant policy advantages and comprehensive service capabilities.

"Every aircraft has its own story, and at this base, every aircraft coming here can 'feel' at home," said Wang Haiye, chairman and general manager at Haikou Airport Aircraft Engineering Co., Ltd.

According to Wang, this commitment is realized through high-quality aircraft painting services, a core part of the base's integrated maintenance ecosystem. With China's Hainan FTP set to officially launch an islandwide independent customs operation on December 18, the region is expected to further elevate its status in global aviation.

The Hainan FTP One-Stop Aircraft Maintenance Industrial Base has achieved remarkable results since becoming operational in 2022. In March 2025, the base completed its first overseas full-body painting project for a wide-body aircraft, featuring a UEFA Champions League theme for Qatar Airways. By April, it had also finished its first full paint job for a plane from South Africa.

The aircraft painting service has secured 22 maintenance licenses and OEM authorizations from 17 countries and regions, including the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the U.S., and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). And here's the cherry on top: its painting speed is world-leading. It takes just 6 days to paint narrow-body planes and 12 to 15 days for wide-body ones.

The base has completed over 2,300 aircraft maintenance operations, 270 full-aircraft painting services, and the repair of 58,000 aviation spare parts as of August 31, 2025. With its professional and efficient operations, the base has become a standout feature of Hainan FTP's aviation sector.

Thanks to the Hainan Free Trade Port's favorable policies, such as maintenance deposit exemptions, allowing the domestic sales of temporarily imported parts, and offering bonded materials, the base has handled over a hundred major repair and painting projects for more than 20 international airlines, including Qatar Airways, Iberia Airlines, and others. With certifications from aviation authorities in the U.S., the EU, and Southeast Asia, the base is gaining recognition as a premier hub for aircraft maintenance, attracting increasing interest from international airlines eager to collaborate.

Fueled by policy innovation and high-quality services, Hainan FTP's aircraft maintenance sector is poised to transform from a regional standout into a global force, where every stroke of paint on an aircraft isn't just about color, but about painting a brighter future for China's aviation prowess in the global arena.