📅 On May 18, 2024, China Eastern Airlines-MU restarted the magnificent journey from Shanghai Pudong-PVG to Xinjiang Kashgar-KHG! This one-way route, which takes about 6 hours, is 4,500 kilometers long and is currently China Eastern Airlines’ longest domestic flight! 🌏✈️🚀 This first flight was operated by an Airbus A320Neo with registration number B-30D2. It took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) at 7:24 in the morning. After a relaxing journey of 5 hours and 45 minutes, 136 people were excited. Passengers successfully landed at Kashgar Lanmei International Airport (KHG) at 1:08 pm, with a passenger load factor of more than 90%! 🎉✈️
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Shanghai and Kashgar: inseparable partners! ✈️
Since 2010, the Chinese central government has implemented the "Counterpart Assistance to Xinjiang" policy, and Shanghai and Kashgar have formed a close economic support relationship. Kashgar is located in the economically underdeveloped southern Xinjiang region and is the westernmost prefecture-level administrative unit in China. Shanghai supports four counties in the Kashgar region. This partnership has brought prosperity and development to both places.
As the largest local airline in Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines has launched flights from Shanghai Hongqiao to Kashgar via Urumqi in 2010.MU5633/MU5634The route operates every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and has been in operation for more than 14 years. In addition, from April 6 to October 26, 2019, China Eastern Airlines also launched a seasonal direct flight from Shanghai Pudong to Kashgar, operating once every Saturday.
Newly restored China Eastern Airlines routes🚀
The newly resumed scheduled flight from Shanghai Pudong to Kashgar is numberedMU6219/MU6220, operating three times every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, providing passengers with more choices and convenience. Before the launch of direct flights, air travel from Shanghai to Kashgar required transfers or layovers in cities such as Xi'an-XIY and Urumqi-URC, which took 8 to 9 hours. The introduction of direct flights will shorten the travel time from Shanghai to Kashgar to 6.5 hours, while the return trip will take 5.5 hours.
In addition to China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines-CZ also launched a new scheduled direct flight from Shanghai Pudong to Kashgar on May 10, operating three times a week. The two airlines have staggered flight days, and there are now direct flights between Shanghai and Kashgar six days a week.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China Eastern Airlines MU5633/MU5634 | SHA-URC-KHG | SHA-URC-KHG | SHA-URC-KHG | SHA-URC-KHG | |||
| China Eastern Airlines MU6219/MU6220 | PVG-KHG | PVG-KHG | PVG-KHG | ||||
| China Southern Airlines CZ6997/CZ6998 | SHA-URC-KHG | SHA-URC-KHG | SHA-URC-KHG | SHA-URC-KHG | SHA-URC-KHG | SHA-URC-KHG | SHA-URC-KHG |
| China Southern Airlines CZ5437/CZ5438 | PVG-KHG | PVG-KHG | PVG-KHG |
International and regional connection hub🌐-Creating the Asia-Europe golden corridor✨
For passengers traveling from Kashgar to Shanghai, Pudong International Airport is an efficient hub connecting to other domestic cities or major global destinations, making international same-day transfers smooth. Passengers arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) can easily transfer to China Eastern Airlines’ international flights to Bangkok, Singapore, Hanoi, Frankfurt, Paris, Auckland, Cairo, London, Istanbul, Budapest and other places at 8:05 pm, seamlessly Connect to a flight that evening or the next morning.
Direct flights from Shanghai to Kashgar are crucial to building a golden corridor between Asia and Europe. With Kashgar as a key node, this route will promote close connections between Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region and Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia. Currently, the trade between Kashgar and Central Asia accounts for more than 80% of the region's total trade volume, while the trade between Shanghai and Central Asia only accounts for 0.25% of Shanghai's total trade volume. There is huge potential for cooperation between Shanghai, Kashgar and Central Asia.
Xinjiang is one of China's largest and most sparsely populated provinces, covering more than 660,000 square miles (about one-sixth of mainland China's total area). Due to the vast distances between cities, the great linguistic, cultural and economic diversity, and the lack of traditional transportation infrastructure, regional aviation provides unique travel and business opportunities in this vast and diverse region.
What’s the longest domestic flight you’ve ever taken? Have you ever been to Xinjiang? Please share your experiences with us! ✈️