Foreign tourists pose for a photo at Beijing's Beihai Park on July 13, 2026, as China's expanded visa-free policies continue to boost inbound tourism. Photo: VCG

Major airlines from both China and abroad are doubling down on their commitment to routes between China and Europe, with no signs of a slowdown in expansion despite shifting global dynamics. 

The confidence comes as carriers highlight strong travel demand - bolstered by China's visa-free policies - and deepening economic ties between the two sides.

During the summer rush, Hainan Airlines has ramped up international capacity out of Beijing, with two European intercontinental routes of Dublin and Edinburgh seeing temporary daily frequency boosts.

The announcements were made on Tuesday as the carrier held a promotional event in Beijing with the Visit Flanders to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Brussels route.

Yu Chaojie, president of Hainan Airlines, said that over the 20 years of safe operation, the Beijing-Brussels route has carried over 2 million passengers in total, making it the longest-serving core intercontinental route operated by Hainan Airlines.

On July 20, 2006, the direct international passenger route from Beijing to Brussels was officially inaugurated. Now, the carrier operates four direct air routes connecting Brussels with Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Chongqing, with a total of approximately 16 round-trip flights per week.

Following a wave of new routes launched by Chinese carriers to Europe since late March, the momentum shows no signs of slowing. Several major Chinese airlines have announced more services to European destinations, further strengthening China-Europe connectivity.

Air China will launch the Beijing Capital-Copenhagen-Reykjavik route starting October 26. This marks the first regular passenger route operated by a Chinese mainland carrier to Iceland.

The route will be operated with an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, with flights scheduled every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. Tickets for the route are now available for purchase.

European carriers are also expanding cooperation in China-related businesses.

On July 21, Lufthansa Group and TravelSky Technology officially reached a distribution cooperation agreement, signing two group-level distribution agreements. These agreements establish a unified contractual framework for the Lufthansa Group and represent a significant milestone in the aviation group's digital transformation of its distribution system in China.

"I understand that sometimes the economic situation can have an impact in what we do, but I have to say that the demand out of China and into China remains quite strong and especially the demand into China as a clear example of the visa free policy, which is very positive," Felipe Bonifatti, VP Asia Pacific, Middle East & Joint Ventures East at the Lufthansa Group, told the Global Times in an interview. 

Lufthansa's has a longstanding presence in the Chinese market. In 2002, it launched direct flights from Shanghai to Munich; in 2010, it became the first airline to operate the A380 on China-Europe routes, and subsequently, it successively opened routes to destinations including Nanjing, Qingdao, and Shenyang.

Bonifatti said that China's visa-free policy has boosted the travel demand between China and the EU.

Official data showed that in the first half of the year, the number of foreign visitors reached 22.914 million, of which 17.815 million were visa-free visitors, representing year-on-year increases of 20.4 percent and 30.6 percent respectively.

Official customs data released further underscored these deepening ties. Lin Weilong, an official from the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday that in the first half of this year, China-EU trade in goods totaled $447.88 billion, up 14.2 percent year on year. He noted that both sides have enormous potential for cooperation in areas such as services trade, technological innovation, and the green economy.