HANGZHOU, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Direct flights between Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) resumed on Sunday, following a temporary suspension due to recent regional tensions.
Prior to resumption, the last round-trip flight between the two locations was operated on Feb. 28, with services halted from March 1 following disruptions at Dubai airport.
According to Sun Guohai, general manager of the ground service department at the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, Dubai-based carrier Emirates will operate a limited schedule of flights between Dubai and Hangzhou from Sunday, with one round-trip flight each day.
The first inbound flight following the resumption, EK310, departed Dubai at 4:28 a.m. local time on March 8 and arrived in Hangzhou at 3:57 p.m. Beijing time. The return flight, EK311, departed Hangzhou at 0:28 a.m. Beijing time on March 9 and arrived in Dubai at 4:52 a.m. local time.
Of Hangzhou airport's three major Middle Eastern destinations -- Dubai, Cairo in Egypt and Doha in Qatar -- flights to Cairo are operating normally at present. Emirates is currently the only airline to have resumed services on the Hangzhou-Dubai route.
Hangzhou airport authorities have said they will continue to monitor developments closely together with airlines, and will update passengers promptly on any future schedule adjustments.
Airports in the UAE partially resumed flight operations on Sunday. Dubai International and Al Maktoum International have resumed limited operations, while airports in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah are also operating reduced numbers of flights. ■
