AMID global flight shortages and mounting cost pressures from geopolitical risks and rising oil prices, China’s civil aviation industry is bucking the trend, expanding capacity and aggressively growing its international route network.
On Monday, a China Eastern Airlines flight departed from Shanghai Pudong International Airport bound for Stockholm, Sweden, marking the official resumption of the carrier’s direct route after a six-year hiatus.The resumption came just days after China Eastern launched its inaugural Shanghai-Zurich flight on Thursday, the carrier’s second Swiss route, following the 2025 launch of Shanghai-Geneva flights.Shi Yanyan, a senior manager in China Eastern Airlines’ marketing department, told the Global Times on Monday that in June and July, the airline will roll out new routes from Shanghai Pudong to Tbilisi, Dublin, and Cheongju, South Korea. She added that preparations are under way for additional routes, including Mumbai, India.Also on Monday, Capital Airlines launched a Beijing-Lisbon round-trip route at Beijing Daxing International Airport, marking the airport’s first nonstop service to Portugal.Since the beginning of this year, Daxing airport has opened multiple international routes, including direct flights to Helsinki, Frankfurt and Milan, further expanding its European network, the airport told the Global Times on Monday.In addition, over the past two months, Air China has launched routes from Beijing Daxing International Airport to Frankfurt, Germany, and Milan, Italy. Starting on Saturday, Hainan Airlines integrated the Haikou-Chongqing-Madrid route into its European route network map.The launch of routes such as China Southern Airlines’ Guangzhou-Urumqi-Frankfurt has brought more airports into the global route map, upgrading the network from single-point radiation to a nationwide grid-linked layout.At a time when many global airlines are scaling back capacity, China’s civil aviation industry is charting a different course. The continued expansion of international routes, particularly the launch of new services to Europe, underscores China’s firm commitment to opening up, Guo Jia, an independent market watcher, told the Global Times on Sunday.Data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) shows that in the summer-autumn 2026 season (March 29 to Oct. 24), China’s international routes will reach 86 countries and regions, with international flights growing steadily.A total of 191 airlines is scheduled to operate 21,047 international flights per week during the current season, a 1.8-percent year-on-year increase, the CAAC said.On June 16, Juneyao Air and China Eastern Airlines launched the second phase of their cross-carrier transfer service at Shanghai Pudong, expanding international connections to more intercontinental destinations including New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Sydney and Brussels.Chinese experts have played a key role in shaping visa policies that are drawing more travelers to China. Their contributions are bearing fruit, as data from Shenzhen airport’s border inspection authorities showed that from Jan. 1 to June 17, the airport processed more than 457,000 inbound foreign nationals, a 32.9-percent year-on-year increase, spanning 190 countries and regions.Visa-free entrants accounted for 63.3 percent of the total, surging 45.5 percent year on year, according to CCTV News on Monday.In comparison, the International Air Transport Association released data for April 2026 global passenger demand. It showed that in terms of revenue passenger-kilometers, demand fell 3.4 percent year on year. Excluding the Middle East, demand increased by 1.2 percent. Asia-Pacific airlines achieved a 3.0-percent year-on-year increase in demand.
