Hainan Airlines’ new air passenger service linking Budapest and Chongqing was given an official welcome at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport on Friday. The new service means Hainan Airlines is returning to the airport after an interval of nine years. Hainan Airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner’s will be flying to and from the two cities twice a week on Mondays and Fridays.

In his welcome speech, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that there are no open issues in Hungarian-Chinese cooperation; relations have been placed on a foundation of common sense, and decisions have been made in accordance with the interests of the Hungarian people. “It is also thanks to this that extremely large investment projects have arrived in Hungary, trade flow is setting new records, and Hungary was the first EU member state to join China’s One Road, One Belt initiative”, he stated. “The results are good: 262 thousand Chinese tourists travelled to Hungary during the first eleven months of last year and spent 429 thousand guest nights here; both numbers are higher than the 2018 figures”, he emphasised.

“Today, China is the world’s largest source country for tourists, with 150 million Chinese citizens travelling abroad each year, providing 20 percent of the world’s tourist spending. Accordingly, it was in Hungary’s fundamental interests to simplify access to visas and to provide more air passenger services”, Mr. Szijjártó stated. “To this end, Hungary has established 14 visa centres in China, visas are issued within 48 hours of a successful application, and today five Chinese cities are accessible from Budapest via thirteen direct flights every week; no other Central and Eastern European capital has such good transport links with China”, Mr. Szijjártó emphasised.

With relation to Chongqing, the Minister said that the city and its vicinity has a population of 31 million people, is home to 27 major automotive industry enterprises, and generates 10 percent of China’s total automotive industry production. “Chongqing has become the engine of Western Chinese economic development, and accordingly a direct link will also give further impetus to the Hungarian economy”, he added.

Chief Commercial Officer of Budapest Airport Kam Jandu said Hainan Airlines last flew to Budapest in 2011 prior to the bankruptcy of Hungarian state airline Malév, when the company’s aeroplanes flew the Budapest-Beijing route. “According to the airport’s data, 220 thousand Chinese tourists arrived in Hungary via the airport last year, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent”, he stressed, adding that the airport has realised several improvements aimed at Chinese tourists. Popular Chinese payment methods have been introduced, and passenger information notices now also provide information in Chinese”, the Chief Commercial Officer said.

Hainan Airlines is the world’s largest independent airline, flying to 110 cities with its fleet of 223 aeroplanes, and operating collection and distribution centres in Beijing, Xi’an and Haikou.

(MTI)