Flights between Brussels and Shanghai return after four-year absence
Brussels Airport welcomed the first Hainan Airlines plane from Shanghai on Tuesday after a break of more than four years.
Hainan Airlines flew between Brussels and Shanghai from October 2017 until autumn 2019. A planned resumption in March 2020 was thwarted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Chinese airline is now flying between the two cities four times a week.
The resumption of the route is "an important milestone that will further strengthen the economic and cultural ties between Belgium and China", Brussels Airport CEO Arnaud Feist said. "Thanks to this new connection, Hainan Airlines now links Brussels Airport with the three largest cities in China."
Post-pandemic recovery
Hainan already flies daily between Brussels and the Chinese capital Beijing and three times a week to and from Shenzhen. With the Shanghai service, Brussels Airport now offers two direct flights a day to and from China.
This number is set to increase in the coming weeks. Earlier this year, the airline Juneyao Air announced that it would be operating three flights a week between Brussels Airport and Shanghai from July.
Belgians travelling to China for up to two weeks no longer need a visa. According to the website of the Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs, this measure will remain in force until the end of 2025.
© BELGA PHOTO AUDE VANLATHEM
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