Air China resumes London Gatwick-Beijing route

Air China, the country's flag-carrier airline, resumed its daily service between London Gatwick Airport and Beijing on Saturday.

The first flight departing from London's second-busiest airport carried more than 240 passengers, achieving an attendance rate of more than 90 percent, according to the airline's London office.

The new route takes Air China's number of weekly non-stop flights between China and the United Kingdom to 62.

"We are tremendously excited to welcome the service to Beijing," said Jonathan Pollard, chief commercial officer at London Gatwick Airport. "Beijing is certainly a key target for us to provide those really important travel and trade links between the UK and China."

Pollard noted that the airport is also targeting secondary and tertiary cities in China, where there is significant demand for flights linking to the UK.