BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Air China, the country's national flag carrier, will launch two direct routes in June to connect Beijing with Kazakhstan's capital Astana and Swiss financial hub Zurich.
Beijing-Astana round-trip flights will begin on June 1, ahead of the 2017 World Expo to be held in the Kazakhstani capital. An Airbus 320 aircraft will fly between the two cities on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
The inaugural flight from Beijing to Zurich will take off on June 7, according to Air China. The Zurich-bound flight will leave Beijing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and return five and half hours after its arrival in Zurich.
The airline currently conducts direct flights between Beijing and Swiss city Geneva. It expects the new route to bring more convenience to those traveling between China and Switzerland.
To boost regional connectivity and integration, Air China has launched a number of new routes connecting China with countries along the Belt and Road in the past two years, including flights between Beijing and the cities of Minsk, Warsaw, Colombo, Islamabad and Mumbai.
