French visitors come to see the display of Chinese traditional kites at the 37th International Kite Festival in Berck-sur-Mer, France, on April 20, 2024. China is the guest country of honor at the festival which is held from April 20 to 28, 2024. Photo: cnsphoto

Starting from April 28, Air China will launch and resume four routes such as Beijing-Riyadh and Beijing-Dhaka flights, meaning its network will again cover six continents, the latest example reflecting Chinese airlines' efforts to expand overseas services driven by rising demand. 

The air carrier also said its European route capacity has reached more than 110 percent of 2019 levels, and it will continue to improve its international route network.

The Beijing-Madrid-São Paulo route, which will resume service on April 28, is the first route for a domestic airline to reach Brazil in South America, one of the longest routes in the world spanning three continents. 

Three other routes including Beijing to Riyadh, starting from on May 6, followed by a Beijing-Madrid-Havana route, will resume on May 17, the only route between China and Cuba, and the Beijing-Dhaka route, will resume in June, Air China said.

Market watchers noted that the resumption of flights will further meet the travel needs of passengers between the two countries, and strengthen the connectivity of economic and trade cooperation.

As the international market gradually opens up, many airlines have added, resumed, and expanded routes, while passenger traffic on international routes has also increased significantly.

China Southern Airlines said that it will open new routes such as from Guangzhou to London Gatwick and Doha, Beijing Daxing to Tehran, Riyadh and Macao. And, China Eastern Airlines said it will launch new routes from Shanghai to Riyadh and Vienna. Juneyao Airlines will add three new direct flights per week from Shanghai Pudong to Manchester from July 1, and add three new direct flights per week from Shanghai Pudong to Brussels route from July 3.

The fast resumption of the routes came amid the background of China pushing for more extensive connectivity with the outside world. 

Photo: Courtesy of Air China

Data from the country's Foreign Ministry in March showed that China has concluded mutual visa-exemption agreements covering different passports with 157 countries, reached agreements or arrangements with 44 countries to simplify visa procedures, and achieved comprehensive mutual visa exemption with 23 countries.

In a recent interview with the Global Times, Jens Ritter, CEO of Lufthansa Airlines said that business travel between China and Germany is picking up. 

Since the end of the pandemic and the lifting of the central quarantine for inbound travelers on January 8, 2023, Lufthansa has been gradually resuming flights to China.

Ritter said that the airline's flights to China are back to reach 70 percent of the levels before the epidemic, and the company is looking for slots in more cities in China, as well as greater flight frequency.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the international passenger transport market will accelerate its recovery this year, and it is expected that the number of flights per week will reach about 6,000 by the end of 2024, returning to about 80 percent of pre-epidemic levels.


Air China said it will continue to improve its international route network. Currently, the number of overseas routes has recovered to 84 percent of 2019 levels in the summer and autumn flight season, and European route capacity has reached more than 110 percent of 2019 levels. 

With the opening and resumption of the four routes, Air China is operating a total of 452 routes, including 112 overseas routes. The route network covers 64 cities in 43 countries and regions.

Data from industry information provider VariFlight showed that the number of flights between China and Europe from March 17 to April 18 was 5,007, reaching 78 percent of 2019 numbers.

Global Times