With the full recovery of China's civil aviation industry and the continuous opening up of international exchanges and cooperation in the mainland, more international aviation hubs are gradually rejuvenating, and more and more international airlines are beginning to return to the Chinese market. In turn, domestic airlines have also expanded their international flight plans, and domestic giants such as Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines have laid out new flights or resumed flights from the end of April, or added as many as 16 international routes.
These new routes cover Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and Australia, providing customers with a wider choice of destinations. Among them, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other large cities will become important aviation hubs, helping domestic and foreign passengers to travel conveniently.
Air China will restore its international and regional routes in the summer and autumn of 2024 to 84% of 2019 levels, of which the capacity investment on European routes has exceeded that of 2019, reaching more than 110%. Starting from April 28, Air China will launch new routes between Beijing and Riyadh and Beijing and Dhaka, as well as resume flights between Beijing and Madrid and Sao Paulo and Beijing and Madrid and Havana, bringing Air China's route network to six continents again.
With the smooth opening and resumption of these four new routes, Air China's route network has been further expanded, and a total of 452 domestic, international and regional routes are currently operated. Among them, the total number of international and regional routes reached 112, covering 64 cities in 43 countries and regions. It is worth mentioning that Air China's "Belt and Road" routes have reached 36 cities and operated a total of 60 routes, providing closer air connections for countries and regions along the route and providing solid support for the promotion of the "Belt and Road".
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil, Air China restarted the Beijing-Madrid-Sao Paulo route on April 28. This route is not only the first domestic airline to reach Brazil in South America, but it also spans three continents and is 17,584 kilometers long, making it one of the longest routes in the world.
After the resumption of flight, this route will be operated by the long-range wide-body Boeing 787-9, which will undoubtedly serve the travel of passengers from China and Brazil more effectively, strengthen the interconnection between China and South America, provide strong support for the in-depth development of Chinese enterprises in South America, and also open up a new channel for promoting economic and trade cooperation between BRICS countries.
On May 6, Air China will launch a new route from Beijing to Riyadh. The opening of this new route provides a more convenient air bridge for economic, trade, cultural and tourism exchanges between China and the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia. It is believed that with the opening of the air routes, cultural exchanges between the two countries will become more frequent, bringing deeper mutual understanding and friendship to the two peoples.
On May 17, Air China will resume the Beijing-Madrid-Havana route. As the only shipping route connecting China and Cuba, it plays a vital role in promoting the connection between the two places. The resumption of the route will not only further strengthen the exchanges and cooperation between China and Cuba in key fields such as economy, trade, culture and tourism, but also meet the needs of the two peoples in all-round friendly exchanges and build a more solid bridge for exchanges and cooperation between the two peoples.
In June, Air China will launch a new Beijing-Dhaka route, which will create a more convenient and efficient air corridor between China and Bangladesh. The opening of the new route will not only promote economic interaction and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, but also provide passengers with more diverse travel options and greatly improve the convenience of travel. In addition, the opening of this new route will also play a greater role in promoting cooperation between the two countries in a wider range of fields, especially in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road".
Air China will also launch flights to Japan's New Chitose Airport and Fukuoka Airport, with four and 10 flights to Japan in May, respectively. Flights to New Chitose Airport depart from Beijing Capital Airport and fly to Fukuoka Airport from two destinations, Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport, with five flights each to Fukuoka expected from Dalian and Shanghai in May.
Meanwhile, China Eastern Airlines will add flights from Pudong Airport to Istanbul Airport in Turkey between May and September, after operating three flights a week to one per day. The two wide-body aircraft, the A330-200 and A350-900, will operate the 8,039-kilometer long route, with a flight time of about 10 hours and 35 minutes.
Not to be outdone, China Southern Airlines, one of the world's largest airline groups, will significantly expand its international presence at multiple airports in Asia. Since May, the airline has added 62 flights to the South Korean capital year-on-year, with more flights added over the next four months of the summer season.
China Southern Airlines announced that it will increase the frequency of flights at a number of airports in May and during the summer season, including Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat Airport, Japanese International Airport, Singapore Changi Airport and Sydney Airport. The additional flight measures are designed to meet the growing demand of passengers, provide more convenient international travel options, and further strengthen China Southern's position in the global network.