The Air Canada check-in counter at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 18, 2023 Photo: VCG

Canada plans to increase direct flights to China, and Chinese airlines are expediting their applications for increased flights, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Wednesday.

Chinese experts hailed the move as a positive signal for bolstering bilateral people-to-people and trade exchanges, anticipating that it will lay a social and cultural foundation for future economic and trade cooperation, as well as help solve structural issues amid rising challenges in bilateral relations.

Air Canada plans to increase direct flights between Vancouver and Shanghai from four to seven weekly round trips starting from December 7, and it will also resume direct flights between Vancouver and Beijing with seven weekly round trips from January 15, 2025, reported CAAC News, the media outlet under the CAAC.

Boosting direct flights will help meet rising demand for bilateral personnel exchanges and trade, accelerating the recovery of the China-Canada air transport market, said the report. 

China and Canada have officially initiated the process of increasing direct flights after multiple rounds of negotiations between the civil aviation authorities of the two sides, according to CAAC News.

"China's position on growing China-Canada relations is consistent and clear. We value this step by the Canadian side and hope that Canada will continue to create sound conditions for the normal exchange of personnel between China and Canada," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday.

In the wake of these developments, China's online travel agency Qunar.com reported that searches for flights to Toronto increased by 110 percent compared with a week earlier, and searches for flights to Vancouver surged by 150 percent, the company told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Canada's decision is a forward-looking step," Wang Yanan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Wednesday, highlighting that elevating, rather than severing, these vital ties, aligns with the fundamental interests of both sides since commercial aviation is a key barometer of global economic cooperation.

The Canadian Transportation Agency announced on Monday the removal of flight restrictions on Chinese mainland airlines, local time, as stated in an official announcement posted on its website. 

Initially imposed on February 3, 2022, these restrictions capped the Chinese mainland's airlines at six weekly round-trip scheduled passenger flights to Canada and halted direct flights from Beijing to Canada. 

As of September, the number of flights between the Chinese mainland and Canada has recovered to less than 10 percent of the levels seen in 2019, the information provider VariFlight told the Global Times on Wednesday.

According to the Canadian Transportation Agency's announcement, those constraints have been lifted for airlines such as Air China, Capital Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, and Xiamen Airlines, effective October 25, 2024.

"While a full return to pre-pandemic levels won't happen overnight, this move is undeniably a step in the right direction amid increasingly strained bilateral relations, and it will help promote a revival in trade, economic ties, and tourism between both sides," Liu Dan, a research fellow at the Center for Regional Country Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Zheng Hongfeng, a frequent traveler between China and Canada, told the Global Times that in recent years, limited direct flights to Canada have forced travelers to transit through other regions. 

"The new move is expected to reduce our journey times and costs, and increased business travel will also drive economic growth for both nations," Zheng said.

Qunar's research center noted that the lifting of restrictions means Chinese airlines can now apply to increase route frequencies, but whether these flights will be approved depends on Canadian authorities' approval.

The earliest possible additional flights are expected before the next Spring Festival at the end of January 2025, driving the increase in international flights between China and the Americas during the holiday season, the company said.

"More flight routes may signal improved Canada-China relations, but more dialogues are essential to address deeper issues," Liu said, urging Canada to take further proactive steps to enhance bilateral ties.

Given the vast potential of the Chinese market, countries that impose restrictions on exchanges with China may find themselves at a disadvantage in the future landscape of global industry competition, said Wang.