An anniversary flight to the Chinese capital from Koltsovo international airport has been operated on July 5. Ten years ago Urals Airlines operated the first flight from Yekaterinburg to Beijing. Launching regular flights in 2009 was strategically important to enhance economic and cultural relations between China and the Urals region.
During this time more than 370,028 people have been transported, whereas the Chinese destination has become one of the top priorities for the airport and airlines. Chinese passengers now have a shortcut to Europe, while Russian citizens can fly directly to the capital of China.
Executive Director at Airport Koltsovo Plc Aleksey Piskunov underlines: “China is a strategic destination at Koltsovo airport and one of the key contributors of transfer passenger traffic at the air hub. Thousands of Chinese tourists use our airport as a point of change for connection flights and it is Koltsovo that often become their only opportunity to get acquainted with the Urals and Russia as a whole. We have created all necessary conditions for a comfortable stay of Chinese passengers; we wait for them and are always happy to welcome them here.”
There’s an inviting atmosphere in Koltsovo for Chinese tourists: navigation in Chinese, timetable with English and Chinese versions, flights to China announced in the native language of this country. The airport’s cafes and restaurants have to offer familiar ethnic dishes to Chinese guests and their menus are translated into Chinese.
Several other remarkable anniversaries are celebrated in 2019: 70 years of the People’s Republic of China, 70 years of diplomatic relations between Russia and China, and 10 years since the opening of China’s General Consulate in Yekaterinburg.
General Consul of Chinese People’s Republic in Yekaterinburg Geng Liping sent her congratulations to Urals Airlines: “Chinese-Russian relations saw rapid development during the past ten years. We’ve achieved tremendous success in cooperation largely thanks to the effort of Urals Airlines. I am positive that the Chinese-Russian relations will be getting stronger and Urals Airlines will make a great contribution to our bilateral cooperation. We wish all your employees great luck and success in their work!”
Commenting on the tenth anniversary of the flight, Kirill Skuratov, First Deputy CEO and Business Development Director of Urals Airlines, pointed out: “Urals Airlines is one of the first Russian airlines to build an air bridge between regional centers of Russia and Chinese provinces. We set up air links between the Urals region and China, having implemented a programme of developing international transfer services via an integrated hub which is Koltsovo. We opened connection flights from Beijing to Rome, Paris and Prague via Yekaterinburg. As for Russia, Chinese tourists mostly care about Moscow and St. Petersburg. We thank the General Consulate of China in Yekaterinburg and congratulate them on the anniversary flight! We also thank Koltsovo airport and our passengers!”
Just to remind: there are up to five flights a week from Yekaterinburg to Beijing. Urals Airlines also operates flights to other cities of China from Koltsovo, namely, Harbin and Ordos.