The new direct flight from Rome Fiumicino to the Chinese city of Xi’an made its maiden voyage today.

The route is served by Hainan Airlines, a private Chinese airline, and is offered twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The connection enables to reach one of the most important cities in Chinese history, one of China’s four ancient capitals, famous for its Terracotta Army, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hainan Airlines, founded in 1993, is now the largest private airline in China. With a fleet of over 150 aircrafts, including the wide body Airbus A330 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, it connects 90 destinations in China, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. 

“This is the final achievement and acknowledgement of an investment that ADR has made to attract Chinese traffic,” said Fausto Palombelli, Marketing Aviation Director of Aeroporti di Roma, at the inaugural ceremony with the vice-president of Hainan, Hou Wei. “It is the second connection in just one year, after Chongqing, for Hainan, a carrier that structures its services to attract western customers. The route to Xi’an is destined to grow next summer.  Now, there are a total of seven destinations in China: in 2015, we registered a little over 500 thousand passengers, and in 2016 we expect a significant increase in volume, maybe even more than 15%.  Leonardo da Vinci thus confirms its position as the first airport in Europe, along with Charles De Gaulle in Paris, for the number of Chinese cities served with direct flights, and the only airport in the European Union to quarter all major Chinese carriers (Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Hainan). This record confirms the leadership of Fiumicino in this market segment, not to mention the attractiveness of Rome and its airport for passengers arriving from Eastern Asia.”

The new route is served by an Airbus A330 that seats 16 in business class and 235 in economy, and offers passengers a selection of comforts ranging from 180° reclinable business class seats to high definition LCD screens, plus a broad range of options for entertainment.

This new flight also allows for rapid transit from Xi’an to other large Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.