Direct flight links China's Haikou, Auckland in New Zealand

New Zealand artists perform a traditional dance to welcome passengers on a direct flight from south China's Haikou city to Auckland in New Zealand, Dec. 8, 2023. (Photo by Sun Xueliang/Xinhua)

Wang Junchao, deputy consul general of China in Auckland, said closer air links between China and New Zealand have boosted their economic and trade ties, tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Direct flights between south China's Haikou city and Auckland in New Zealand were launched as an aircraft carrying over 60 Chinese tourists landed at the Auckland International Airport on Friday.

The round-trip service, operated by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, is currently scheduled for every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Wang Junchao, deputy consul general of China in Auckland, said closer air links between China and New Zealand have boosted their economic and trade ties, tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

"Hainan Airlines opened a route from Haikou to Auckland, laying a solid foundation for the construction of international transportation networks and international economic and trade cooperation networks," Wand added.

A plane of China's Hainan Airlines is seen at the Auckland International Airport for a direct flight from south China's Haikou to Auckland in New Zealand, Dec. 8, 2023. (Photo by Sun Xueliang/Xinhua)

Scott Tasker, chief customer officer of Auckland International Airport, said that the launching of the air routes is "extremely important" because "it established new people-to-people links between our two countries," while China is New Zealand's largest trading partner and Chinese visitors are the second largest visitor market.

Hainan Airlines Vice President Chen Hao said that the route will play a key role in promoting the economic development and cultural exchanges between Auckland and Haikou.

This is Hainan Airlines' fourth direct flight to Oceania after the Haikou-Sydney, Haikou-Melbourne, and Shenzhen-Auckland routes, said Chen.

Wang Haifeng, general manager of Hainan Airlines Auckland Branch, estimated that round-trip flights on this route can transport over 1,500 passengers to the two places every week.