{"id":10866,"date":"2022-08-23T10:30:05","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T10:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=10866"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:38:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:38:15","slug":"what-flights-are-available-between-the-uk-and-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/what-flights-are-available-between-the-uk-and-china\/","title":{"rendered":"What flights are available between the UK and China?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to a series of recent policy relaxations, travel to China is beginning to get easier and an increasing number of direct flights between the UK and China are also now available. Read on for the latest updates<\/h2>\n

Summer 2022 saw a reduction of China\u2019s quarantine duration from 21 to 10 days (seven days in a quarantine hotel and three days in your place of residence, if permissible), as well as the simplification of the pre-departure testing procedure.<\/p>\n

China has also relaxed its visa rules by removing the requirement for British nationals to acquire PU letters in order to apply for a Z (work), M (business), or F (non-commerce visit \u2013 e.g., lecture, research, cultural exchange) visa, in addition to reopening applications for X1 student visas (for long-term students who intend to study in China for more than 180 days).<\/p>\n

With all of this in mind, the question then becomes: how can you fly to China from the UK?<\/p>\n

\"launchpad<\/a><\/p>\n

Direct Flights<\/strong><\/h4>\n

After being suspended in late 2020, direct flights between China and the UK resumed in mid-August, with Air China flying to London Heathrow from Beijing and Shanghai once per week.<\/p>\n

Hainan Airlines resumed direct flights from Beijing to Manchester in late August 2022, with a once-weekly service arriving and departing on Monday. Note that due to policy in China, the outbound service to Beijing currently stops in Dalian, where passengers will have to quarantine before travelling onwards to Beijing.<\/p>\n

Air China is also operating flights from London to Shanghai and Beijing with tickets currently in very high demand. Flights from London to Qingdao operated by Capital Airlines have also begun, but availability is limited. Other planned flight routes include London to Guangzhou with China Southern and London to Shanghai with China Eastern.<\/p>\n

The flights are being operated in accordance with China\u2019s circuit breaker system \u2013 meaning if a certain number of cases are found on a particular flight, the route will be temporarily suspended \u2013 with additional flights being added to routes operating with lower numbers of Covid-19 cases on board.<\/p>\n

You can keep track of which flights are currently suspended under the circuit breakers measures on the Civil Aviation Administration of China website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When it comes to booking direct flights, we suggest contacting the airlines directly and using their official websites (as opposed to booking engines like Trip.com). It is also worth checking for flights on routes to cities other than Beijing and Shanghai, such as Dalian, Guangzhou or Qingdao.<\/p>\n