First direct flight from Shanghai to Venice takes off

The first regular direct flight from Shanghai to Venice left Pudong International Airport on Thursday, greatly cutting the travel time between the two cities.

The flight from China Eastern Airlines carried nearly 230 passengers to the world-famous water town.

Serviced by flight numbers MU785/786, the China Eastern Airlines route will offer three weekly round trips on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Flying time is around 13 hours, with tickets costing between 5,000 and 6,000 yuan.

Outbound flights will leave Pudong at 12:50am local time and arrive at Venice's Marco Polo Airport at 7:50am local time.

Return flights leave Venice at 11:30am local time to arrive at Pudong at 5:30am local time the following day.

Passengers say the direct flight will almost half the time the trip took previously.

"I usually take a flight to France or other cities in Italy and then transfer to Venice. It can take 20 to 24 hours in total. The direct flight is very convenient," one Italian woman said.

A Chinese passenger surnamed Huang said she and her two friends bought tickets for the first flight for their travel in Italy.

"We designed our route by ourselves and selected Venice as our first stop. It is the first time for us to go to Italy and we are very interested in Venice," she said.

The route is serviced by A330 aircraft, equipped with high-speed in-flight Wi-Fi services that allow passengers to stay connected throughout the trip, the airline said.

Currently, the two airports in Shanghai can reach 112 international destinations in 48 countries. This year, 15 international destinations were added or restored, according to the airport authority.

In the first eight months of this year, the city's Pudong and Hongqiao airports served 83 million passengers, a rise of 36 percent compared with the same time last year.

Entry-exit passengers increased significantly during this period, with nearly 23 million passengers, rising by 119 percent from the same period last year.

A visa-free policy for citizens from some countries, including Italy, for short stays in China has further boosted international travel. So far, China Eastern Airlines has launched four routes between China and Italy, stepping up connections between the two countries and with mid-European regions, officials said.