A new daily flight has been launched between Beijing and London by a Chinese carrier as international travel continues to grow following the Covid pandemic.

China Southern Airlines, a state owned airline, will operate the service to Heathrow from the suburb of Daxing in the Chinese capital and it is the first new daily service to start between the two countries since the Covid outbreak.

It is a sign of economic revival with routes being expanded and follows the lifting of travel restrictions including quarantine-free arrivals in China. China Southern is one of the country's largest airlines in terms of fleet numbers and it aims to make Daxing a hub with more flights to be launched to Europe and the U.S..

The new $63 billion airport with its four runways is aiming for around 70 million passengers a year by 2025. The service will see one flight leaving from Heathrow daily at 10.30 p.m. local time and at Daxing airport travelers can connect to domestic and international flights, reported Xinhua news agency.

"We have never landed at the Daxing airport because it was built only a few years ago, and we are looking forward to the experience there," said a passenger surnamed Niu while waiting for check-in at Heathrow.

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Passengers will fly on an Airbus A350 aircraft and it is expected to transport more than 600 passengers each day between the two cities, according to the airline.

"Since last January, China's aviation market has seen passenger growth of 120 percent compared to 2019. Aviation transport globally in May was growing at 80 percent. Therefore, we are confident in the recovery of the Chinese market," said Xiao Yong, deputy director general, China Southern Airline.

The last few years have been tough for the travel industry with Louise Bryce, director of partnerships at Visit Britain, saying the country was only at 30% of 2019 visitor numbers.

While Joanna Taso, aviation director at London Heathrow Airport, said: "It is absolutely significant what we've seen since the start of the year as the travel restrictions have eased post pandemic. We're seeing the routes have started to open up, the airlines start to fly again. This is the start of the bringing back of Chinese carriers."

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Cover image: CFP