Chinese airlines ramp up Canada flights following dropped restrictions

Not long after Canada dropped its COVID-era restrictions on flights to China, Chinese airlines are ramping up connectivity between the two countries with increased and resumed direct flights. 

The latest example is Hainan Airlines, which restored service between Beijing and Toronto Pearson (YYZ) on Sunday (Nov. 10).

The airline plans to operate one round-trip flight on the route each week, according to a press release.

Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines are also set to expand and resume direct flights between China and Canada, China Central Television reported on Sunday, as reported by the Global Times.

Direct flights will connect four Chinese cities – Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen and Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province – with Toronto and Vancouver, the report said.

"The increase and resumption of direct flights between the two countries will give a boost to people-to-people exchanges while meeting their economic and trade demand," Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Air Canada, too, is taking advantage of the dropped restrictions.

READ MORE: Air Canada to resume daily flights to Beijing, increase Shanghai service to daily

On Sunday, Air Canada began operating seven weekly round-trip flights between Vancouver and Shanghai.  As previously reported, the airline will also resume daily service to Beijing.

“With the investments we have made at our YVR hub linking Air Canada's extensive North American network to our international flights, travelling between North America and Asia is convenient and compelling for leisure and business travellers alike. We look forward to welcoming our customers onboard our flights," said Mark Galardo, executive vice-president – revenue and network planning at Air Canada, last month.

In 2021, Canada’s Minister of Transportation issued an order that limited the number of flights operated by Chinese carriers to Canada to two scheduled round-trip passenger flights per week. The order was replaced with a new one in 2022, raising the cap to six weekly frequencies.

The government fully rescinded the order last month, in turn removing frequency rules.

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