Direct air route to launch between Haikou, Sydney

BEIJING -- A direct air route will open on January 30 of next year between the south China coastal city of Haikou and Sydney to meet the increasing demand for tourism and businesses, according to Hainan Airlines.

It will be the company's 7th direct route to Australia and the first international route departing from the island province operated by Hainan Airlines.

Hainan Airlines has been operating 6 routes to Australian cities including Brisbane, Cairns and Melbourne departing from China's Shenzhen, Xi'an, Changsha and other cities.

The flight will operate twice weekly via the company's fleet of Airbus A330 aircraft.

Diversified products and services will be provided to better serve customers, including round-trip tickets and pick-up services, according to the company.

Starting flight operations in 1993, Hainan Airlines has launched over 1,400 routes to both domestic and foreign destinations.

Hainan Airlines came in third in the 2016 Airline Safety Ranking worldwide, according to an airline safety evaluation from German firm JACDEC, the most authoritative airline safety rating firm in the world.