Chinese airlines open new routes in 2023 as China reopens borders
Dhaka: China has reopened its borders to some travellers for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. The country has dropped quarantine requirements and relaxed other rules for inbound travellers. Hence, China's main airlines are ramping up their offerings, restoring flight routes that were eliminated or reduced during the pandemic as well as opening a few significant new routes.
China and Greece restored one of the most important ties -- the first direct flight from Shanghai Pudong to Athens in the last week of December 2022. Air China will be operating the 10.5-hour flight once a week.
China's third-largest city will have a direct link to Istanbul in 2023, thanks to a new flight on China Southern Airlines. The airline, headquartered in Guangzhou, is flying the inaugural route to Istanbul Airport from January 10.
An upcoming Air China direct flight will travel between Beijing's Capital International Airportand Johannesburg, South Africa's OR Tambo International Airport. Air China announced the new route.
The southwest China metropolis of Chonqing is getting several new exciting air routes this season. The first is an Air China direct flight to Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City.
The other new flight taking off from Chongqing is also serviced by Air China and flies to Budapest, Hungary's Ferenc Liszt International Airport, once a week.
The first China Southern Airlines direct flight from Xi'an to Almaty International Airport (ALA) took off on January 6, 2023.
China Southern Airlines is forging closer ties with neighbouring Cambodia with two flights a week between Phnom Penh and the southern Chinese city of Nanning. This flight began on December 22, 2023.
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