Fujian's first direct passenger route to the UK opens in Xiamen

[European Special Line] Fujian’s first direct passenger route to the UK opens in Xiamen

China News Service, Xiamen, September 6 (Wu Guanbiao) Fujian Province’s first direct passenger route to the United Kingdom opened in Xiamen on the 6th.

This route is operated by Boeing 787-9 wide-body aircraft, flight number MF821/822, with one flight every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The outbound flight took off from Xiamen at 0:50 Beijing time and arrived in London at 6:35 local time; the return flight took off from London at 12:35 local time and arrived in Xiamen at 7:00 Beijing time the next day.

Previously, passengers traveling between Xiamen and London had to transit through Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Paris, France, or Hong Kong, China, and the whole journey took more than 20 hours.

On September 5, the Gaoqi Border Inspection Station deployed a foreign language volunteer service team at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport to guide passengers through customs clearance. Photo by Liu Kai

Chen Jinlai, deputy director of Gaoqi Border Inspection Station of Xiamen Border Inspection Main Station, said that as of September 5, Xiamen Port has had nearly 4.5 million inbound and outbound passengers this year, including more than 800,000 foreign passengers. Since February 17 this year, China has implemented a unilateral visa-free entry policy for British citizens holding ordinary passports, making it more convenient for British citizens to come to China for business and tourism. "The dual benefits of 'visa-free + direct flights' will provide strong support for the growth of two-way passenger flow."

Considering the high proportion of foreign passengers on intercontinental routes, the border inspection station is also equipped with a foreign language volunteer service team that speaks 12 languages including English, French, and German to provide foreign passengers with multilingual services such as policy interpretation and customs clearance guidance. (over)