Over the past year, hundreds of cargo flights have connected China with Europe, transporting thousands of tons of goods from Xinjiang province. This region, home to the Uyghur minority, has long been at the center of international controversy due to reports of forced labor and human rights abuses.<\/span><\/p>\n According to an <\/span>analysis<\/span><\/a> by the Washington-based advocacy group Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), over the past 12 months, more than 40 air routes have been established connecting Europe with airports in Xinjiang. Goods are being shipped to countries including the UK, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, and Spain.<\/span><\/p>\n UHRP emphasizes that planes are carrying e-commerce products, clothing, footwear, electronics, car parts, and agricultural goods\u2014sectors particularly vulnerable to the exploitation of Uyghur forced labor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe rapid expansion of cargo flights between the Uyghur region and Europe represents a growing threat to the integrity of supply chains in the EU and the UK,\u201d <\/span>says<\/a> David Alton, Chair of the UK Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights. He argues that the increasing number of flights contradicts the EU\u2019s mechanism for monitoring products suspected of being made with forced labor.<\/span><\/p>\n Not all transport companies have full knowledge of the origin of the goods they carry. For example, representatives of Georgian CAMEX Airlines admit that they have no direct contact with manufacturers or the ability to verify whether products are made under forced labor conditions. Similarly, UK-based carrier European Cargo states that it complies with national regulations such as the Modern Slavery Act 2015 but acknowledges that tracking the entire supply chain is difficult.<\/span><\/p>\nAirlines in the shadow of allegations<\/b><\/h2>\n