Dublin Airport welcomes today’s launch of Hainan Airlines’ new year-round direct service to Shenzhen.
The airline will operate two flights per week between Dublin and Shenzhen, which is in south-eastern China. Shenzhen will be Dublin Airport’s second destination in mainland China, as Hainan already operates a Dublin-Beijing service.
“We are delighted Hainan is expanding its network from Dublin by adding this second destination to China,” said Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison.
“Shenzhen is a really exciting destination for both business and leisure travel,” Mr Harrison added. ”The new route will further increase trade, tourism and investment between Ireland and China and expand the growing number of Chinese visitors to Ireland.” .
Hainan Airlines’ General Manager Ireland, Ryan Zhang said: “We are delighted to launch this second direct route between Dublin and China. We are proud that Hainan Airlines is playing a central role in forging greater friendship and cooperation between our two countries. We look forward to welcoming many Irish and Chinese guests on board our five-star Skytrax service.”
Hainan is operating its twice weekly route to Shenzhen on Mondays and Fridays with a Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner with 289 seats.
Hainan entered the Irish market last June when it launched a service to Beijing via Edinburgh. On alternate days the service either operates direct between Dublin and Beijing or has a stopover in Edinburgh.
Known as China’s tech hub, Shenzhen has been one of the world’s fastest-growing cities in recent decades and has a population of about 13 million. The city is a 30-40-minute bullet train ride away from both Hong Kong and Guangzhou and was ranked second in Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Cities to visit in 2019.
Lonely Planet described Shenzhen as “China’s most innovative city” with “a strumming indie-music scene, cool cafes, a small contingent of craft brewers and a whole new arts district risen from the remains of former warehouses”.
Hainan has a significant domestic route network at Shenzhen and also operates flights from the city to international destinations such as Brisbane, Brussels, Madrid, Oakland, Osaka, Tel Aviv, Vancouver and Zurich.
Hainan Airlines was established in 1993 in Hainan Province, which is the largest special economic zone in China. Since then, Hainan Airlines has established bases in 12 Chinese cities including Beijing, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dalian, and Chongqing.
Hainan’s Shenzhen service is one of 20 new routes at Dublin Airport for this year. Last year, Dublin Airport welcomed 31.5 million passengers, which was a 6% increase on the previous 12 months.
Dublin Airport has flights to almost 200 destinations in 43 countries, operated by 56 airlines and is the 11th busiest airport in the European Union. It one of Ireland’s key economic assets, as it generates or facilitates 117,300 jobs and €8.3 billion worth of economic activity.
Image above: Hainan Airlines' General Manager Ireland Ryan Zhang; Chinese Ambassador to Ireland H.E. Dr. Yue Xianoyong and Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison at the launch of Hainan Airlines' new direct route from Dublin to Shenzhen.