Xiamen launches the first direct passenger flight from Fujian to the UK, cutting travel time and boosting business and tourism links between China and Britain.
On 6 September, Xiamen launched the first direct passenger flight from Fujian to the UK.
The new route operates three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. It is served by a Boeing 787-9 wide-body aircraft under flight numbers MF821/822.
According to CNS, the outbound flight departs Xiamen at 00:50 Beijing Time and arrives in London at 06:35 local time. The return flight leaves London at 12:35 local time and arrives in Xiamen at 07:00 Beijing Time the following day.
Previously, passengers travelling between Xiamen and London had to transfer in Amsterdam, Paris or Hong Kong, making the total journey more than 20 hours.
According to border inspection data, Xiamen Port recorded nearly 4.5 million passenger trips this year as of 5 September, including more than 800,000 by foreign nationals.
China introduced a unilateral visa-free policy for British ordinary passport holders on 17 February, making business and tourism travel to China more convenient. The combination of visa-free access and direct flights is expected to further boost two-way passenger flows.
Given the high proportion of foreign travellers on international routes, the border inspection station has also set up a multilingual volunteer team. The team speaks 12 languages, including English, French and German. It provides foreign travellers with policy briefings, clearance guidance and other multilingual services.
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