London-Chongqing air route celebrates rising popularity

A promotional event introducing the air route between London and Chongqing, a municipality in southwestern China, was held in London on Monday.

Organized by the Chongqing Airport Group and Tianjin Airlines under the guidance and support of the Chongqing Municipal Development Committee of Culture and Tourism, the event drew approximately 100 guests from the airline industry, travel agencies, business associations, and media outlets from both countries.

In his opening remarks, Zhang Li, director of the China Tourism Office in London, stated that the Chongqing-London air route has significantly contributed to Sino-British tourism, cultural exchanges, and the recovery of China's inbound tourism. Zhang expressed his expectation that Chongqing Airport, Tianjin Airlines, and UK tourism partners would leverage this route as a key platform to collaboratively develop more distinctive "Aviation + Cultural & Tourism" products in the future.

Currently, the Chongqing-London passenger service is operated by Tianjin Airlines using Airbus A330 aircraft, with flights scheduled twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Flight GS7966 departs from London Heathrow Airport at 21:00 and arrives at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport at 15:50 the following day. Conversely, Flight GS7965 departs from Chongqing at 15:00 and arrives at London Heathrow at 19:00.

Lei Biming, deputy general manager of Chongqing Airport Group Co Ltd and chairman of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Co Ltd, described the route as a core air corridor underpinning China-UK economic and trade cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural interactions.

He noted that London's strategic position as Europe's largest economic hub and a global financial center aligns closely with Chongqing's role as a comprehensive transport hub in central and western China. Lei affirmed that the Chongqing Airport Group is ready to deepen collaboration with all parties, continuously refine operational quality, upgrade end-to-end passenger service experiences, and expand passenger and cargo markets between the two cities.

This development follows China's implementation of unilateral visa-free access for British citizens in February, a policy that has substantially facilitated business, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges between the two nations.