Hainan Airlines is building back its international route network with the return of flights to three cities. The airline is working alongside the city of Shenzhen to make the city's airport a global aviation hub.

Two different widebody aircraft types will be used on the long-haul routes. Currently, the service is projected to run seasonally, with ending dates confirmed by the airline.

A celebration ceremony

On Friday, Hainan Airlines announced that flights would reconvene from its hub in Shenzhen to Rome, Auckland, and Brussels. The airline and Shenzhen Airport Group, the operator of the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, hosted a ceremony at the airport in celebration of the flights returning.

According to the carrier, several officials were in attendance at the ceremony.

“Authorities from the Shenzhen government, Shenzhen Baoan International Airport, the Consulate General of the Republic of Italy in Guangzhou, and Hainan Airlines gave speeches to wish for the successful launch of the flights.”

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One for now, two more next month

The first of the three flights to return, Shenzhen to Rome, departed early Sunday morning at 01:15 as Hainan Airlines flight 437 (HU437). Operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the flight arrived at Rome-Fiumicino Airport at 08:30 local time after just over a 12-hour journey. Hainan said the fight's arrival marked the resumption of the carrier's fourth international route to originate from Shenzhen. The roundtrip service will be twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays.

The other two routes, Shenzhen to Auckland and Shenzhen to Brussels, are set to begin next month. On June 17th, Hainan will resume service to Auckland with two roundtrip flights per week scheduled on Tuesdays and Saturdays on the Airbus A330 aircraft. Service to Brussels will officially restart on June 21st, with roundtrip flights operating on Wednesdays and Sundays. Similar to the Rome route, the flight will be operated with a 787 Dreamliner.

Growing internationally

The return of the routes brings the number of international routes departing from Shenzhen from three to six. The airline has reportedly restarted close to 30 international and regional roundtrip flights from Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Haikou, Chongqing, Xi'an, Changsha, and Guangzhou. With additional routes that have still yet to resume since the pandemic, Hainan said it would work to continue to resume more flights and open new international and regional routes to meet the demand and expectations of its passengers.

"We are also running Shenzhen-Paris, Shenzhen-Vancouver, and Shenzhen-Phnom Penh routes and will form a network connecting Shenzhen to Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania," the airline explained.

Here is the latest flight information for the new routes—the flight times of the Shenzen-Auckland route change beginning September 24, 2023.

Hainan Airlines said passengers have several options to make inquiries and purchase tickets for the flights on its website or app. The carrier also allows travelers to select their seats in advance, pre-pay for bags, and upgrade their flight.