It takes only 8 hours and 25 minutes for Chengdu direct flight to Moscow to open Sichuan to Europe.

　　At 15: 06 on May 2, an Airbus with flight number 3U609 took off from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport for Moscow, the Russian capital, marking the opening of Chengdu’s direct flight to Moscow. This is the first direct flight from southwest China to Moscow and the fourth direct flight from Chengdu to Europe. The air time from Sichuan to Europe has been reduced to 8 hours and 25 minutes.

　　The Chengdu-Moscow route is operated by Sichuan Airlines, with three flights per week. Each class takes off from Chengdu at 15: 00 and arrives in Moscow at 18: 25 local time; It took off from Moscow at 20: 20 local time and arrived in Chengdu at 10: 00 the next day Beijing time (the time difference between Beijing and Moscow is 5 hours). The maiden flight was full of passengers, and 289 passengers were mainly tour groups.

　　With the opening of this route, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport has increased to 71 international regional cities and 82 international regional routes. Previously, Chengdu had opened direct flights to Amsterdam, London and Frankfurt, with flight time of 11 hours, 10 hours and 9 hours respectively. The Chengdu-Moscow route further shortened the air time between Sichuan and Europe to 8 hours and 25 minutes. "This is the shortest air corridor from Chengdu to Europe." Yan Yuhua, manager of aviation marketing department of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, said that in terms of geographical location, compared with other big cities in China, Chengdu has the most time advantage in flying to Europe. The opening of this route will drive the growth of transit passengers in Chengdu and further enhance the status of Chengdu as an aviation hub in the central and western regions.

　　Data show that China has become Russia’s largest trading partner, and China tourists rank first in the number of foreign tourists received in Russia. Yan Yuhua said that with the 72-hour transit visa-free policy, Russian tourists can transfer to popular tourist destinations such as Melbourne, Phuket and Sanya via Chengdu. Domestic travelers can also use this route to transfer to northern Europe, eastern Europe and other places for sightseeing and business negotiations. (Wang Meiling)