China Southern Celebrates Its Inaugural Flight from Beijing Daxing to Riyadh

     April 16,2024-On the afternoon of April 16, China Southern celebrated the inaugural flight of its Beijing Daxing - Riyadh route, and successfully held a launch event of international routes and service products along the Belt and Road, marking the commencement of the first regular direct passenger flight service from the Chinese mainland to Saudi Arabia. Representatives from China Southern and the Saudi Tourism Authority, customers and other guests attended the event.

    At the launch event, China Southern introduced its international routes and products along the Belt and Road, the rights and transit services for passengers in Beijing Daxing International Airport, as well as in-flight meals and customization service for international flights. Zhang Dongsheng, Deputy Director General of Commercial Steering Committee of China Southern, said that with the in-depth implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI), economic and trade exchanges between China and Saudi Arabia have become increasingly close. The launch of the regular direct flight between Beijing Daxing and Riyadh is an important manifestation of the deepened cooperation between the two nations in economy, culture, tourism and other fields. The flight will not only greatly promote bilateral people-to-people, economic and trade exchanges, but also build a more convenient air bridge for the people of the two countries to know each other and promote friendship.

    China Southern has opened 14 direct flights from Beijing Daxing to international and regional  destinations such as London and Amsterdam. Up to now, China Southern has opened 8 international routes along the Belt and Road directly from Beijing Daxing to Almaty, Bishkek, etc., with 74 round-trip flights every week. In the near future, it will also launch routes including Beijing Daxing - Dhaka. China Southern will strive to build Beijing Daxing into an all-round compound international aviation hub, strength the important fulcrum of the Belt and Road connectivity, and build a smooth and convenient Air Silk Road.

    The inaugural flight from Beijing Daxing to Riyadh was implemented by an Airbus 330-300, carrying a total of 240 passengers. The cabin was carefully decorated and theme activities were designed in accordance with the service philosophy of "affinity and refinement", which aimed to create an experience and atmosphere featuring Beijing characteristics and Saudi culture.

    There will be two direct flights every week, on Tuesday and Saturday. The departure flight CZ5077 will take off from Beijing Daxing International Airport at 15:10 local time and arrive at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh at 20:10 local time, with a duration of approximately 10 hours. The return flight CZ5078 will take off at 22:10 local time in Riyadh and arrive in Beijing at 12:00 noon the next day, with a duration of 8 hours and 50 minutes. Passengers taking this flight can transfer from an international to international flight without picking up or rechecking luggage. They can also purchase the "New Route, Pleasant Flight" international travel product on China Southern Airlines app to get more discounts.

    In the future, China Southern will continue to open and increase flights along the Belt and Road, purse "going global" through "flying out", carry out international cooperation in an all-around way, and build a major air channel for economic and trade exchanges between China and foreign countries and international logistics, so as to make greater contributions to serving the BRI.