Direct passenger flight service links Guangzhou with capital of PNG

Flight CZ5055 awaits its maiden flight linking south China's Guangzhou and Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG), at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 19, 2023.(Photo by Xiao Meng/Xinhua)

GUANGZHOU, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- China Southern Airlines launched a direct passenger route linking south China's Guangzhou and Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG), on Wednesday.

It is the first regular commercial air route connecting the Chinese mainland and an island country in the Pacific.

The CZ5055 flight carrying 132 passengers landed at Port Moresby International Airport on Wednesday morning, marking the inauguration of the route.

A flight attendant takes part in a ceremony marking the first regular commercial air route connecting south China's Guangzhou and Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG), in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 19, 2023.(Photo by Xiao Meng/Xinhua)

The round-trip service is scheduled once a week, with the outbound flight departing from Guangzhou at 1 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Wednesday and the return flight at 9 a.m. (local time) on Thursday from Port Moresby, according to the airlines.

PNG is the first Pacific island country to sign the memorandum of understanding and cooperation plan with China on Belt and Road cooperation and has become China's largest trading partner in the region.