Direct flights to Alaska in the United States from China began on Sunday evening with a Boeing 767 taking off from the central city of Changsha to Anchorage in Alaska.

The maiden flight took off in the evening from Changsha, capital of Hunan province. It was scheduled to reach Anchorage, the largest city of Alaska, in nine and a half hours, said Liu Zhiren, general manager of Hunan Airport Management Group Co Ltd.

The flight will continue its trip to Los Angeles after a two-hour stop in Anchorage, said Liu. The US carrier Dynamic Airways will fly the route in chartered flights until the end of March next year when it will launch a regular twice-a-week flight, he said.