Chinese Airlines resumed Direct Flights to the UK- NCL Travel

A sigh of relief is heard across the UK and China as the government of both countries has decided to resume direct passenger flights from China to the UK by Chinese Airlines carriers.

After almost 2 years since China banned flights from the UK due to fears of contracting new variants of coronavirus resulting in the suspension of flights between the two countries on 28 December 2020, it is scheduled to be resumed.

In a statement made on the official social media account of the British Embassy in China on Wednesday, it was written that a formal agreement was reached by the UK Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Administration of China to recommence two-way flight operations between the two countries.

This agreement between the two nations came into effect after the announcement of China to relax the Covid-19 restrictions for international passengers.

The decision to reduce the time of suspension by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) came after it was found that some passengers travelling on scheduled inbound international flights also had Covid-19.

On 7 August 2022, the norms came into effect with the intention of facilitating cross-border personnel movements, international exchanges and cooperation.

Previously in June 2022, the government of China also decided to reduce the mandatory quarantine period to seven days.

In Addition to that, Air China resumed direct flights between London and Beijing on Thursday for the first time since 2020, the first Chinese carrier to resume services after an 18-month hiatus. According to its booking platform, Air China has also restarted flights from Shanghai to London on Saturday.

Other Chinese airlines have also joined the list promptly as China Eastern Airlines restarted its Shanghai to London services on Friday, while China Southern Airlines put out a statement saying it will start a flight service from Guangzhou to London on 17 August.

According to flight information from VariFlight, along with Capital Airlines, a total of four Chinese airlines are currently conducting flights from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province to the UK.

However, these are all one-way outbound flights from china to the UK, and no information on inbound flights has been announced yet.