New air route links China's island province, Myanmar

HAIKOU - A new direct air route is set to be launched later Tuesday between Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan province, and Myanmar's Rangoon.

The flight is the second direct route linking Hainan with Myanmar.

The air route is operated by China's Jiuyuan Airlines, with three round trips scheduled every week.

The outbound flight AQ1133 will leave Haikou Meilan International Airport at 11:00 p.m. Beijing Time on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and is scheduled to land in Rangoon at 00:35 a.m. local time the following day. The inbound flight AQ1134 will leave Rangoon at 01:35 a.m. local time and land in Haikou at 06:00 a.m. Beijing time every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Qiu Jianming, the marketing director of Jiuyuan Airlines, said the company started to operate flights to Myanmar in October, 2018 and has opened three direct air routes connecting Guangzhou, Guiyang and Changsha with Myanmar.

"Myanmar is an important country participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. We value the market of Myanmar," said Qiu.

A direct route was launched in June 2019, linking Haikou with Myanmar's Mandalay.

"The new air route will further boost the exchanges and cooperation between Hainan and Myanmar, and increase mutual visitors, which will be of great significance to Hainan's tourism," said Fu Fenghua, an official with the provincial department of tourism, culture, radio, television and sports.

"We will continue to promote Hainan's tourism in Myanmar this year," said Fu, adding that they would invite Myanmar's travel agencies and media to Hainan for field trips.

Data from the provincial department of tourism, culture, radio, television and sports showed Hainan received 1,087 tourists from Myanmar in the first 11 months last year, up 122.3 percent year on year.

China plans to build Hainan into an international tourism and consumption center by 2025 and a globally influential tourism and consumption destination by 2035.