Shanghai expands global air routes for summer-autumn flight schedule

​Aircraft parked at an airport in Shanghai. [Photo/Shanghai Observer]

Shanghai is expanding its overseas flight network as the city's two major airports transition to the summer-autumn schedule, which runs from March 29 to Oct 24.

A daily average of 772 international and regional flights is scheduled at both Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport during the new season, up 1.8 percent from a year earlier.

New routes will connect Shanghai to destinations such as Kolkata in India and Tbilisi in Georgia, while flight frequencies to Istanbul in Turkiye, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Hanoi in Vietnam, Singapore, Bangkok in Thailand, and Jeju in South Korea will increase.

China Eastern Airlines, a major domestic airline, will launch new routes from Shanghai to Adelaide in Australia, Mumbai in India, Dublin in Ireland, Cheongju in South Korea, Manado and Surabaya in Indonesia, Tbilisi, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, and Muscat in Oman, further enhancing the city's international connectivity.

Starting March 30, IndiGo and Air Astana will begin operations in Shanghai. IndiGo will operate a daily direct service between Shanghai and Kolkata, while Air Astana will run three direct flights per week to Almaty in Kazakhstan, strengthening air links with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Among the new routes planned by China Eastern Airlines are nine services linking Shanghai Pudong International Airport with the following destinations:

• Adelaide, scheduled to begin on June 20 and operate until Aug 2 with three flights a week;

• Mumbai, scheduled to begin in May with four flights a week;

• Cheongju, scheduled to begin in June with daily flights;

• Dublin, scheduled to begin in June with three flights a week;

• Tbilisi, scheduled to begin in July with three flights a week;

• Ulaanbaatar, scheduled to begin in July with three flights a week;

• Muscat, scheduled to begin in September with two flights a week;

• Manado, scheduled to begin in June with three flights a week;

• Surabaya, scheduled to begin in June with three flights a week.