Relaunch of direct Budapest-Beijing flight celebrated

Budapest, May 7 (MTI) – The relaunch of direct flights between Budapest and Beijing was celebrated at Budapest Marriot Hotel on Thursday evening.

The agreement on the new direct air connection between the two capitals was announced by Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in March.

Chinese state airline Air China will operate the service with an Airbus A330 aircraft four times a week.

Xiao Qian, the Chinese ambassador, said at the ceremony that the relaunch is part of China’s plan to develop links with the central and eastern European region.

Laszlo Szabo, the Hungarian foreign ministry’s state secretary said that the flight could serve as a bridge for China to Europe, and for Europe to China.

Jost Lammers, the CEO of Budapest Airport, said 90,000 Chinese visitors arrived in Hungary in 2014 which marked an about 20 percent increase on the previous year. He said that the Budapest-Beijing flight is expected to handle 30,000 passengers per year.

Chinese airline Hainan terminated its Budapest-Beijing flight it operated under a code-sharing agreement with Hungarian national carrier Malev in 2012, after Malev’s collapse in February that year.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters