Direct Amsterdam-Beijing Passenger Flights Resume

New Amsterdam-Beijing Daxing route will start from four weekly flights and increase in accordance with market demand

Commercial passenger flights between the Netherlands’ and China’s capitals resumed with the relaunch of direct flight from Amsterdam to Beijing yesterday, after a three-year pause caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.

Passengers, waiting to board a fully booked China Southern Airlines flight to Beijing, were presented with colorful wooden tulip flowers as gifts to commemorate the relaunch of direct air service at a boarding gate at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

The passengers departed from the Schiphol Airport at 8:40 p.m. local time and were scheduled to arrive at Beijing Daxing International Airport after a 10-hour-flight.

According to the airline partnerships director at Schiphol Airport, who was among airport representatives giving out tulip flowers to passengers, it was the first time that Dutch air hub was operating the flight between Beijing Daxing and Amsterdam, and Schiphol officials were happy that Chinese capital was now connected to Amsterdam again.

According to European sales manager of China Southern Airlines, the Amsterdam-Beijing service was suspended in March 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, and the flights resumption marked the airline’s “comprehensive and accelerated recovery in the China-Europe market.”

The new Amsterdam-Beijing Daxing route will start from four weekly flights and increase in accordance with market demand, said the Chinese airline representative.

Besides the Beijing route, China Southern Airlines also operates flights between Amsterdam and Guangzhou, a metropolis in south China, four times a week.

Also, Dutch airline KLM’s flight departed Schiphol Airport for Beijing Capital International Airport yesterday, marking the resumption of the KLM’s flight route to China’s capital disrupted by the pandemic.

In a press release, the Dutch carrier said it marked the “recovery of the routes from and via Amsterdam to China. The Chinese market is important in KLM’s network, due to demand from business travelers.”

Schiphol Airports’ Partnerships Director confirmes that the number of flights between the Netherlands and China has now increased to 27 a week from only six about a year ago due to higher passenger flows.

“That’s only passenger flights,” he stressed, adding that more flights could be added in the near future.