China-Russia flights to take off, with Beijing, Shanghai and Hainan on the radar

Russia plans to add additional direct flights from St Petersburg to Beijing and Shanghai by next year, according to an airport executive and aviation analysts, while the route between its second-largest city and the island province of Hainan will also be resumed, amid growing demand for flights to China for business and tourism.

Asiyat Khalvashi, director of aviation commerce at the Northern Capital Gateway consortium that runs St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, told Russian newspaper Vedomosti last week that “the operator is negotiating an increase in the number of direct flights next year”.

China Eastern Airlines would operate an additional seven to 10 flights per week from St Petersburg to Shanghai, Khalvashi added, while the frequency of flights from Pulkovo Airport to Beijing operated for the first time by Hainan Airlines is expected to expand by between two and seven per week.

“The increase in passenger traffic to China is mainly due to more business tourists, as well as transfers when flying to countries in Southeast Asia,” Khalvashi added.

Besides first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai, direct flights between Hainan – a popular destination for Russian tourists – and St Petersburg are also set to return between late January and early February having been halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.