Passenger flights between Xi'an and Ashgabat have been launched
On Saturday, May 13, the first passenger route between Xi'an, the administrative center of Shaanxi Province in northwest China, and Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, was officially opened.
On the route Xi'an-Urumqi-Ashgabat, flight CZ5085 will depart from Xi'an at 17:30 Beijing time (09:30 GMT) every Saturday and arrive in Ashgabat at 23:10 local time (18:10 GMT). On the way back, flight CZ5086 will depart from Ashgabat at 00:40 local time (19:40 GMT) the next day and arrive in Xi'an at 12:30 Beijing time (04:30 GMT), Xinhua news agency reports.
The opening of flights between Xi'an and Central Asian cities is of great importance, as they will promote economic and cultural exchange between China and the region.
The "One Belt, One Road" initiative has facilitated exchanges between China and Central Asian countries, said Xiong Jie, party secretary of the Northwest Regional Office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
He added that as the "Air Silk Road" continues to take shape, it will open up more opportunities for cooperation between the two sides in the fields of culture, business and tourism.
The new route, together with a flight between Xi'an and the Tajik capital Dushanbe, which will be launched on May 18, marks the complete connection of passenger air traffic from Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, to five Central Asian countries.
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