Hainan Island gets first European connection

Hainan Airlines extends Chongqing-Rome route to Haikou

Written by:Mark Elliott

The outbound service from Haikou will be a night flight

The Chinese island province of Hainan is now connected to Europe, following the launch of a new service by Hainan Airlines.

On Saturday 21 May, the carrier commenced twice weekly flights from Haikou, the capital of Hainan, to Rome. Flights will operate via Chongqing.

Under the new schedule, Hainan Airlines’ flights will depart Haikou’s Meilan International Airport every Wednesday and Saturday at 1945, arriving at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport at 0735 the next day. The return service will leave the Italian capital every Thursday and Sunday at 1210, getting back to Haikou at 1015.

The carrier will deploy a 214-seat Airbus A330 aircraft on the route, with 36 flat-bed seats in business class and 178 seats in economy.

This new service marks an extension of Hainan Airlines’ existing Chongqing-Rome route, and the carrier also operates three weekly flights to Rome from Xi’an.