CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Hainan Airlines' Chongqing-Seattle Direct Flight HU445 departed Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CJIA) at 11:38 CST (China Standard Time) on May 16, marking the official beginning of the first direct flight route to Seattle, USA in western China.

Hainan Airlines' Chongqing-Seattle direct flight route will operate one round-trip flight every Thursday, with the departure flight departing Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport at 11:20 CST and arriving Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Seatac Airpot) at 9:00 local time and the return flight taking off from Seatac Airpot at 11:00 local time and arriving in Jiangbei at 16:00 UTC (the next day). The estimated flight times for the trips are 12 hours 40 minutes and 14 hours, respectively.

The opening of the Chongqing-Seattle flight route will further promote economic development and cultural exchanges between the two places, provide a convenient air route directly connecting China’s inland areas and North America, and play a significant role in constructing an integrated inland open transportation hub.

At 19:00 CST on the same day, the direct flight between Chongqing and Vietnam's Hanoi departed Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. The air route is owned and operated by Western Air, a subsidiary of Hainan Airlines.

The Chongqing-Hanio round-trip flight service is operated three times a week utilizing an Airbus A320 aircraft on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The departure flight leaves Chongqing Jiangbei Internation Airport at 18:55 CST and arrives in Hanoi at 20:00 local time; the return flight departs Hanoi at 21:00 local time and lands in Jiangbei at 00:50 CST (the next day). Both the outbound and return flights take around two hours.

Based in Chongqing, Hainan Airlines’ West Air has devoted major efforts to its development diagram in Chongqing and given full play to its strengths to launch more short-haul international flights between Chongqing and the neighboring countries and regions of China, such as Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, and attract more inbound tourists to Chongqing. West Air has made continuous efforts to satisfy the needs of Chinese residents for outbound travel and facilitate travel for international tourists entering China for leisure, business, or transfer purposes.

Hainan Airlines has launched direct overseas routes from Chongqing to many European countries, such as Madrid, Rome, Paris, and Milan. At the same time, the carrier has resumed, launched, and planned to operate more than 40 international or regional round-trip routes from Beijing, Shenzhen, Haikou, Chongqing, Xi’an, Changsha, Taiyuan, Dalian, and Guangzhou. In the future, Hainan Airlines will continue its efforts to accelerate the resumption and opening of international and regional air routes so as to further satisfy the travel demand of inbound and outbound visitors. (Translated by Yuki, Fathom Language Limited)