London Gatwick has launched a new route to Shanghai, offering British passengers direct access to one of China’s key business hubs.
Operated by China Eastern, Gatwick’s new service to Shanghai Pudong Airport will operate three times every week – on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Operated using an Airbus A330-200, the route will provide over 70,000 seats and over 3,700 metric tonnes of cargo capacity – in both directions – every year.
China’s largest city, Shanghai is one of the world’s fastest-developing metropolises. The focal point of China’s growth story, Shanghai dominates the Yangtze River Economic Zone – a region accounting for 20 percent of China’s GDP. In addition to being a global financial hub and the centre for trade, technology and real estate within China, Shanghai is also an attractive tourist destination, known for its unique style of architecture.
Guy Stephenson, Chief Commercial Officer, Gatwick Airport said: ‘The addition of one of the world’s biggest financial centres to Gatwick’s route network is very good news for the UK, particularly as connections to China and other non-European countries are set to take on extra significance in the New Year and beyond.
‘With China being one of the UK’s main trading partners, this is a vital business route connecting two of the world’s most important cities – but Shanghai is equally an exciting and much sought-after tourist destination. We’re pleased to welcome China Eastern to Gatwick for the first time and are delighted that our passengers now have direct access to everything that China’s largest city has to offer.’
The new Shanghai route comes after an increased demand from Gatwick passengers for flights to China. The number of passengers travelling to China from Gatwick increased by 54.3 percent year-on-year during the first half of the current financial year.
Gatwick operates over 60 different long haul routes, with one in six of the airport’s 46 million annual passengers now travelling to long-haul destinations, the airport noted.
