The seasonal operation starts at the end of June and lasts about three months.

Flight frequency

The flight will operate weekly. The outbound flight, flight number JD627, will depart from Beijing Daxing International Airport at 10:55 am, arriving in Lisbon at 5:15 pm (local time) every Monday. The return flight, JD628, will depart from Lisbon at 6:55 pm (local time), arriving in Beijing Daxing at 2 pm the following day, the company told Lusa news agency.

The route will be operated with Airbus A330 wide-body, twin-aisle aircraft, equipped with business and economy classes.

No flights to China

Currently, there are no direct flights between Lisbon and Beijing, and connections are usually made via European or Middle Eastern hubs.

The airline's announcement comes in the context of the war between the United States and Israel against Iran, which has led to the cancellation of several flights with stopovers in the region.

Beijing Capital Airlines already provides a direct link between Lisbon and the Chinese city of Hangzhou, the only direct air route between Portugal and China.

This connection operates twice weekly and has been in service since the resumption of air links between the two countries after the end of the Chinese 'zero covid' policy.

The Lisbon – Hangzhou route has an approximate duration of 13 hours.

Operational asymmetries

The expansion of direct air links between Portugal and China also occurs in a context marked by operational asymmetries in the aviation sector.

Chinese airlines continue to benefit from access to Russian airspace, unlike European carriers, which are prevented from using it following sanctions imposed on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine.

This difference translates into shorter routes and lower operating costs for Chinese companies on flights between Asia and Europe, giving them a significant competitive advantage over their European counterparts, which are forced to bypass Russian airspace, increasing flight times and fuel consumption.