WUHAN - Air China will launch a non-stop flight route linking central China's industrial hub of Wuhan with Tokyo on August 27, the airline said on Wednesday.

The first direct international air link from Wuhan will cut travel time to Tokyo in half, as the current flight route from Wuhan to Tokyo requires a transfer in Shanghai or Beijing, according to an Air China subsidiary in Central China's Hubei province.

The airline will conduct round-trip flights between the two cities twice a week.

The flight route was originally supposed to be launched around the end of March, but was postponed due to Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The company said the new air route will facilitate tourism and business exchanges between Japan and Wuhan, as well other inland cities in the country's central and western regions.