TIANJIN Airlines has launched London Heathrow's first scheduled service from the Chinese city of Chongqing
TIANJIN Airlines has launched London Heathrow's first scheduled service from the Chinese city of Chongqing. The direct flight is operated three times a week using an Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The service offers capacity for up to 3,744 tonnes of exports and imports annually to Tianjin and the surrounding region, reported London's Air Cargo News.
Chongqing forms part of China's 'West Triangle Economic Zone', an area that also incorporates Chengdu and Xi'an and which contributes 40 per cent of western China's GDP.
'The economic growth of Chongqing regularly tops that of other Chinese cities and there are no signs of it slowing down,' Heathrow airport authorities said.
Data compiled by London Heathrow shows that last year a total of 137,000 tonnes of cargo was flown directly between the gateway and China, up 10 per cent compared to 2016.
The airport's chief commercial officer Ross Baker said: 'Now that Parliament has voted unequivocally in favour of Heathrow expansion we will ensure London and the UK become the destination of choice for Chinese trade, tourism and investment.'
