Hainan to launch direct flight from Beijing to Mexico

Hainan Airlines, one of China’s four largest carriers, announced at a meeting on February 2 that it will launch a direct route from Beijing to Mexico on March 21.

The launch will mark the first-ever non-stop route from China to Latin America operated by a Chinese airline.

The flight will first stop in Tijuana, a border city just south of California, and then will arrive in Mexico City.

Operating with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the route will fly three times per week in its first stage.

Jose Luis Bernal, Mexico’s Ambassador to China, said at the same meeting that Mexico welcomed more than 39 million travelers from around the world in 2017, ranking as the eighth biggest tourist hotspot worldwide.

He added that Mexico has increasingly become the first choice destination for many Chinese tourists.

In 2017, for example, approximately 120,000 Chinese traveled to Mexico, with the travel industry between the two countries set to become a key market in the near future.

In recent years, the Mexican government has been relaxing its visa policies for travelers and residence permit holders from around the world in order to make global travel more convenient.

For instance, starting from May 2016, tourists and businesspeople, despite their nationality, who hold non-expired visas or permanent residence permits from countries such as the US, Canada, the UK, Japan and EU countries no longer need a Mexican visa to enter the country.

Hainan Airlines is the carrier with the most direct flights between China and the US.

So far, the carrier has opened 12 routes between the two countries.