SINGAPORE—China Southern Airlines has announced it will start the first scheduled service between China and Armenia, with a route serving the Xinjiang region’s capital Ürümqi (URC) and the Armenian capital Yerevan (EVN).
The twice-weekly service (flight CZ5091 outbound and flight CZ5092 returning) is set to begin in Sept. 3 and will be operated with a Boeing 737-800. China Southern says the EVN to URC leg will land at 7:00 a.m. Ürümqi and Beijing time, and passengers will be able to connect to 41 domestic cities in China including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou within the same day.
Armenia implemented a visa-free policy for Chinese visitors in January 2020.
The inclusion of Armenia will complete air connectivity between China and the “Three Caucasus Countries” that include Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Azerbaijan Airlines is operating nonstop flights from Azerbaijani capital Baku to Beijing. China Southern also flies to both Baku and Georgian capital Tbilisi from URC.
