Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

HAINAN Airlines will inaugurate a direct flight between Shenzhen and Tel Aviv, Israel, tomorrow.

This route will be a new path taking the place of the airline’s Guangzhou-Tel Aviv route that ended Tuesday.

Tickets for the flight are starting at US$650 for a round-trip using Dreamliner planes.

The flight will operate twice a week. It departs from Shenzhen at 1:35 a.m. and arrives in Tel Aviv at 7:35 a.m. (local time). The return flight leaves at 12:10 p.m. and arrives in Shenzhen at 5 a.m. the following day (Beijing Time).

Starting Monday, Hainan Airlines plans to launch nonstop service between Shenzhen and Dublin. The flight will operate Mondays and Fridays.

It leaves Shenzhen at 1:30 a.m. and arrives in Dublin at 7 a.m. The return flight leaves at 9 a.m. and arrives in Shenzhen at 5:30 a.m. the following day.

The Dublin-Shenzhen route is Hainan Airlines’ second direct route between China and Ireland following the launch of the Beijing-Dublin route, as well as the airline’s third international route launched from Shenzhen this year.

Hainan Airlines currently operates over 10 international routes originating from Shenzhen, with service to and from Brisbane, Brussels, Madrid, Oakland, Osaka, Paris, Vancouver and Zurich, as well as other destinations.

In 2018, the airline opened six intercontinental routes to Madrid, Brussels, Vancouver, Zurich, Vienna and Paris from Shenzhen. Its international route network from Shenzhen covers Southeast Asian countries, Europe and Australia, and promotes the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The international passenger turnover at the Shenzhen airport had reached 4.58 million by the end of 2018, an increase of 34 percent. The growth rate ranks No. 1 among the top 10 Chinese airports, statistics from the Shenzhen airport show.

Hainan Airlines, established 25 years ago, now has a fleet of 400 aircraft. Its network covers 220 cities around the world.