Capital Airlines resumes Qingdao-Vancouver direct flights

A direct passenger air route linking Qingdao, Shandong province, with Vancouver, Canada, resumed operations on Friday, reconnecting the two cities after a six-year hiatus.

A direct passenger air route linking Qingdao, Shandong province, with Vancouver, Canada, operated by Beijing Capital Airlines, resumes service on Oct 2. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The route is currently the only direct international passenger route linking Shandong province with North America, according to executives from Qingdao International Airport Group. Its resumption is expected to facilitate trade ties and people-to-people exchanges between the two regions.

The route is operated by Capital Airlines, with one flight scheduled every Friday on the Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft. The direct flight from Qingdao to Vancouver takes about 11 hours and 20 minutes.

With the resumption of the Qingdao-Vancouver route, Capital Airlines now operates intercontinental routes from Qingdao covering three continents — Europe, Oceania and North America — with destinations including London, Moscow, Sydney, Melbourne and Vancouver, said Liu Jun, president of Capital Airlines.

Passengers wait at the boarding gate at Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport before their flight to Vancouver, Canada, on Oct 2. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"It saves three to four hours to fly directly from Qingdao to Vancouver," said a female passenger surnamed Wei, adding that the direct service is much more convenient than having to transfer in Beijing or Shanghai.

As of Friday, Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport had 30 international and regional passenger routes. The number of inbound foreign travelers has increased significantly this year, with passenger numbers from South Korea and Southeast Asia rising 14.6 percent and 85.6 percent year-on-year, respectively. From January to August, some 440,000 foreign travelers entered China through Qingdao airport, an increase of 34 percent year-on-year.

During the National Day holiday, the number of inbound and outbound passengers traveling through Qingdao airport increased by more than 15 percent compared with normal days, according to Shi Saifeng, deputy director of the policy research department of the aviation marketing committee of Qingdao International Airport Group.

The airport has strengthened border-crossing support and established a comprehensive service center for overseas visitors operating around the clock, integrating services covering payments, culture and tourism, telecommunications and transportation, he added.

(chinadaily.com.cn)