Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

A NEW air route from Shenzhen to Cambodia will be put into operation today, marking the opening of the first of four international routes from Shenzhen in the next 10 days.

The flight to Sihanoukville, Cambodia, will operate every Monday. It departs from the Shenzhen airport at 10:10 a.m. and arrives at Sihanoukville International Airport at 11:35 a.m., sources with the Shenzhen airport said.

Besides this route, Hainan Airlines will open two intercontinental routes from Shenzhen to European cities, Brussels and Madrid, on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The flight, HU759, to Brussels will operate every Tuesday and Thursday, leaving Shenzhen at 12 p.m. and arriving in the Belgian capital at 5:30 p.m. The return flight leaves Brussels at 7:30 p.m. and arrives in Shenzhen at 1:50 p.m. the following day.

The flight from Shenzhen to Madrid will operate twice a week from Shenzhen, on Thursdays and Sundays, and the trip will take 14 hours and 15 minutes.

The return flight from Madrid will operate every Monday and Friday and it will take 13 hours and 5 minutes.

Starting from March 28, the Moscow-based I-Fly Airlines will operate flights between Shenzhen and St. Petersburg twice a week. The Lion Air in Indonesia will operate a route between Shenzhen and Bali Island four times a week starting March 25.

Hainan Airlines uses Shenzhen Airport as a major base, so it will open a Shenzhen-Tianjin-Vancouver route in the first half of the year.

According to an agreement signed by Hainan Airlines and Shenzhen Municipal Transport Commission, the airline will open at least one intercontinental route and two international routes from Shenzhen a year during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. At present, Hainan Airlines is operating three intercontinental routes and seven international routes from Shenzhen.