CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- On the morning of May 16, as the flight HU445 of Hainan Airlines departed from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, it marked that the direct passenger flights from Chongqing to Seattle officially was resumed; in the evening of that day, a direct flight from Chongqing to Hanoi, Vietnam, exclusively operated by West Air, also took off smoothly from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport.

After entering the flight season of summer and autumn this year, major airlines are accelerating the resumption and launch of new international routes, and Chongqing is also experiencing an accelerated resumption and growth of international flights.

Data shows that Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport currently operates 25 international (regional) passenger routes, with over 130 flights per week, with a backbone network of international routes connecting major cities in North America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and other regions basically established.

What are the positive factors that promote the launch of international routes at Chongqing airports? What signal does it reflect?

Chongqing's economy getting more closely tied to the world economy

Civil aviation has entered the summer and autumn flight season since March 31. Major airlines have added multiple international (regional) routes in Chongqing. According to the statistics, up to now, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is operating 25 international (regional) passenger routes, connecting cities (regions) such as Seattle, London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Budapest, Sydney, Dubai, Doha, Seoul, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh, Kathmandu and Vientiane.

Meanwhile, Chongqing Airlines announced it plans to launch the route Chongqing-Colombo-Male on June 24 and resume the route Chongqing-Phuket in the summer vocation. The relevant person in charge of Chongqing Airlines stated that in the future, Chongqing Airlines will continue to expand the depth and breadth of international routes, invest in new routes in Southeast Asia and South Asia, accelerate the layout of international flights in regions such as Japan, South Korea and Central Asia, and launch more high-quality international routes.

Industry insiders predict that with the acceleration of economic growth, international routes will gradually resume, and the aviation consumer population will continue to grow. In the second half of this year, it is expected that the number of passengers transported will be significantly more than that of the same period last year.

To build a global route network

Zhu Yu, General Manager of the Marketing Department of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Co., Ltd., introduced that since 2023, Chongqing Airport has taken multiple measures to accelerate the resumption and development of international routes. Chongqing Airport has actively cooperated with the relevant competent departments of the municipal government to prepare the development plan for Chongqing international routes, clarifying the direction of recovery and development for international routes; it have provided strong support for the recovery and development of international routes in Chongqing by offering discounts and conveniences in aspects such as aviation charges, overseas airline deposits, non-aviation resources and rewards for international route promotion.

Data shows that as of the first quarter of this year, 12,169,500 million passengers trips has been made by Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, 23.1 percent higher than the same period last year. Among them, 359,000 international (regional) passenger trips was made, increasing by more than three times year-on-year.

With the orderly resumption of new international passenger routes, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport has also resumed and added international freight routes since the beginning of this year to promote the interconnection of goods between Chongqing and the world, focusing on building a comprehensive gateway for air transportation.

"By the end of this year, we will strive to increase international (regional) routes to over 40, to build a global route network and to assist Chongqing in building an important strategic support for western development in the new era and a comprehensive hub for inland opening-up," said Zhu Yu. (Translated by Hu Chuanmin, Fathom Language Limited)