China and Iceland launch first scheduled passenger air service
The first scheduled passenger service between China and Iceland began operating on Monday, with the inaugural flight landing safely at Keflavik International Airport near the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik.
Air China flight CA807 arrived on Monday morning after a 15-hour journey. The airport welcomed the aircraft with a water salute, a traditional ceremony representing the highest honor in civil aviation.
"To our knowledge, this route is not only the first scheduled passenger service between China and Iceland, but also the only such service currently in operation connecting East Asia and Southeast Asia to Iceland," said Li Dong, deputy director of Air China's Commercial Committee.
The new route departs from Beijing, makes a stop in Copenhagen, Denmark, and continues to Reykjavik. Passengers can book a single ticket for the entire journey and use through-baggage transfer services, making travel more convenient.
"Before this route was launched, we had to buy tickets for two separate flight segments. First, in terms of ticket prices, it greatly reduces our travel costs; second, it also shortens our travel time," said He Yanjun, a passenger on the flight.
Reykjavik serves as Iceland's political, economic, cultural and transportation hub, as well as an important aviation transit point between continental Europe and North America. In recent years, people-to-people exchanges between China and Iceland have grown closer, while cooperation in tourism, trade, the economy, green energy and polar research has continued to deepen. The new route is expected to create additional opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.
"This is very important for Iceland because we are now seeing for the first time a direct link between Iceland and Asia. We see that the Chinese tourists come in the wintertime to see the Northern Lights. And that is exactly the most important time of the year for us to invite the guests from China to Iceland. It can bring a lot of exciting opportunities. One of the most important one that I see is the export of Icelandic seafood to China because now we can bring fresh Icelandic seafood into the Chinese market within 24 hours," said Petur Oskarsson, CEO of Business Iceland.
According to CCTV+, the launch of the first scheduled passenger air service between China and Iceland is expected to facilitate travel, strengthen people-to-people and business ties, and create new opportunities for tourism and trade, including Icelandic seafood exports to China.
