A direct route between Manchester and China was restored yesterday for the first time in two and a half years.
Hainan Airlines is to resume flights from Beijing after the British and Chinese governments agreed last week, that Manchester-China was one of the routes that could resume post-pandemic.
The outbound flight will initially stop in the Chinese city of Dalian where passengers must undergo quarantine for seven days, due to policy in China. However, the inbound connection will be direct from Beijing. The service will operate from October on Tuesdays.
Hainan has moved quickly to start operating the service again using an Airbus A330 in time for the busy travel season. More than 40 universities across the airport’s catchment area welcome thousands of Chinese students each year.
The airline started serving Manchester in 2016, with the airport becoming the only gateway outside London with direct service to mainland China.
Around 100,000 people a year travelled between the northern hub and Beijing from the airport’s catchment area before the pandemic.
