WUHAN, China: An Airbus A350 flew from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, with 270 passengers bound for the Heathrow Airport in London on Friday morning, marking the resumption of the direct flight route from the city to Europe after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Operated by China Southern Airlines, this air service will be available once a week on Fridays. The outbound flight is slated to leave Wuhan Tianhe International Airport at 2:15 a.m. and land in London at 7:10 a.m. local time. The return flight leaves London at 11:05 a.m. local time and lands in Wuhan at 5:00 a.m. the next day, according to Xinhua.
The first outbound flight to London witnessed the passenger load factor reach 88%, and that of the inbound flight hit 90%, the vice sales manager of China Southern Airlines’ Hubei branch Li Shuwen said.
Revenue from flight
He said that they are very optimistic about the revenue that would generate from the route. So far, more than 80% of the available seating capacity of the Wuhan-London flights next month has already been booked.
He added that the company plans to add one more flight every week in November.
Up to now, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport has resumed 9 air routes to international metropolises, including Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai, and Bangkok.
