Major boost for the North as flights to and from China restarts today from Manchester Airport
The service will operate weekly each Monday arriving at 10:00 and departing at 15:00
The route’s return is being praised by various organisations across the North including in Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Cumbria
The North is set for an economic boost as it was confirmed direct air links with China will be restored for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Hainan Airlines has announced it will resume its Beijing-Manchester service from Monday 22nd August.
The airline started flights from the Northern hub in 2016, with the route going on to unlock hundreds of millions of pounds in trade, investment and tourism benefits.
The UK and Chinese governments last week agreed Manchester-China was one of the air corridors that could resume after a two-and-a-half year hiatus, and Hainan has moved quickly to start operating the popular service again, in time for the busy student season.
Hainan Airlines will use an A330 aircraft with both economy and business classes
The news has been hailed as a major boost to the North and UK’s levelling-up ambitions, with Manchester Airport becoming the only gateway outside of London with a direct service to mainland China.
Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director of Manchester Airport, said: “Today’s announcement is clear evidence of the vital economic role that Manchester Airport plays, both in the North and the UK as a whole, as we emerge from the pandemic. Prior to 2020, the Hainan service provided vital connectivity to one of the world’s most important economies and I am sure this news will be welcomed by the hundreds of thousands of people across the North who travel to and from China each year.
It is extremely positive to see critical routes like this return to our departure boards and we look forward to working closely with Hainan Airlines to build on the previous success of this route.”
Pre-pandemic, there were around 100,000 people a year who travelled between Manchester and Beijing from the airport’s catchment area.
Economic impact studies showed the route led to a 38% increase in Chinese visitors to the North, with an average spend per visit increasing by 94%, and export values grew by 41%.
The return of the route will also be incredibly encouraging for the more than 40 universities across the airport’s catchment area that welcome thousands of Chinese students each year.
Due to policy in China, the outbound service to Beijing will initially stop in the Chinese city of Dalian, but the inbound service will be direct from Beijing. From October the service will operate on a Tuesday.