Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    CHINA Southern Airlines opened a direct flight from Shenzhen to Osaka, Japan, on Thursday in its latest effort to increase its presence in the Northeast Asia market.

    In the coming week, two other international routes, one to Ibaraki, Japan, and the other to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, will be put into operation, the airline’s Shenzhen company said at the launch ceremony of the flight to Osaka at Shenzhen International Airport.

    The flight, CZ8425, will operate every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It leaves Shenzhen at 10:15 a.m. and arrives in Osaka at 2:30 p.m. The return flight, CZ8426, leaves at 3:30 p.m. and arrives in Shenzhen at 7:20 p.m.

    To meet the demand of summer holidaymakers, the company will operate a flight to Ibaraki every Saturday and Sunday starting from Saturday. Ibaraki is about 40 kilometers away from Tokyo. Fukuroda Falls is one of the three most renowned waterfalls in Japan. It also has the second-largest lake in Japan.

    On July 31, the airline will open the route to Ho Chi Minh City. The flight, CZ8465, will operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It departs from Shenzhen at 5:45 p.m. and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at 7:30 p.m. The return flight, CZ8466, leaves at 8:30 p.m. and arrives in Shenzhen at 12:20 a.m.

    The opening of the routes brings the total number of international routes operated by China Southern Airlines at the Shenzhen airport to 11, accounting for 29 percent of the total international routes at the airport.

    “The Shenzhen branch has been expanding its overseas routes over the past two years. The number of overseas routes now accounts for 12 percent of the routes operated by our company,” Liu Guojun, general manager with China Southern Airlines Shenzhen Co., said Thursday. Liu said the company will increase flights to Japan in the future by operating one flight a day.