Two years after ceasing direct flight operations to China, British Airways announced resuming its daily flights to Shanghai on Sunday. The national flag carrier of the United Kingdom halted its operations due to the pandemic.
The announcement came on February 2 from the airline, after China eased its three-year-old travel restrictions a month ago. China also lifted quarantine requirements for inbound travellers.
Following this, the airline will also resume operations beginning on June 3, operating four times a week.
According to the head of sales for British Airways’ Asia Pacific division, Noella Ferns said, “We can’t wait to welcome our customers back on board our flights from Shanghai and Beijing. We know they’ve been looking forward to reuniting with family and friends, coming to study in the UK, and resuming business between China and the UK. We have an incredibly rich history of flying to China, having connected the two countries for more than 40 years. We look forward to resuming these routes again.”
A Chinese student from Northern Ireland, Li Cong said, “I booked a ticket as soon as I saw the news. I first bought a connecting flight to Hong Kong. But I prefer direct service as it is more convenient. So even though I had some money deducted from my refunded ticket, I still choose this flight.”
Other travellers also appraised this decision from British Airways.
Virgin Atlantic, another British carrier, has announced resuming services on May 1 with daily flights to and from Shanghai.
The resumption of the Shanghai service is considered as being a “longtime coming” by Virgin Atlantic’s chief commercial officer, Juha Jarvinen.
Other airlines on the continent are also expanding their capacity to China. This summer flight season will see more flights from Paris and Amsterdam to Shanghai and Beijing by Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
German airline Lufthansa claims that it will increase the number of weekly flights to the Chinese mainland from five to nine.
According to a forecast released by the European Travel Commission last month, long-distance travel between China and Europe this year will be 60-70% of the pre-pandemic levels. According to the analysis, a complete recovery of 2019 levels is not anticipated until 2026 because it takes time to win back the trust of long-haul travellers.
The European Tourism Association’s CEO, Tom Jenkins, stated that the arrival of Chinese tourists changed several European attractions. And, they have been sadly missed since 2019.
He also added that there are other obstacles standing in the way of a full recovery such as higher fuel prices, diminished capacity in Europe, the issuing of passports, and the current state of world politics.