A passenger gets his ticket at the check-in desk decorated with pandas and plane models at Istanbul Airport, Türkiye, June 21, 2023. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)
June 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Sichuan Airlines Wednesday resumed service to Türkiye after the pandemic, with a plane taking off from Istanbul Airport to the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.
According to Cheng Xiaobo, head of the Istanbul office of Sichuan Airlines, the Chengdu-Istanbul route flights will be operating every Monday and Wednesday, with a flight duration of about nine hours.
Passengers queue up to check in with smiles on their faces at Istanbul Airport, Türkiye, June 21, 2023. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)
At the airport, a ceremony was held with the attendance of China's Consul General in Istanbul Wei Xiaodong. Wei said the resumption of the Chengdu-Istanbul route of Sichuan Airlines would further facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries and promote bilateral cooperation in the economic, trade, and tourism sectors.
Sichuan Airlines has teamed up with Turkish Airlines, Türkiye's flag carrier, to offer its transit passengers convenient and fast check-in service in Istanbul.
China's Consul General in Istanbul Wei Xiaodong (L) attends the ceremony for the resumption of Türkiye flights of Sichuan Airlines at Istanbul Airport, Türkiye, June 21, 2023. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)
Sichuan Airlines launched a direct flight from Chengdu to Istanbul in April 2019, which was suspended in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As China lifted outbound travel restrictions earlier this year, Sichuan Airlines has resumed flights on 26 international routes. ■
