China Southern Airlines resumed its flight operations from Lahore to Urumqi on Tuesday with flight number CZ6018, which will provide greater convenience for businessmen and tourists traveling to China from Lahore and neighboring provinces.
  The route will have three return flights per week with a capacity of around 177 passengers per flight, according to China Economic Net (CEN). Urumqi, a city in northwestern China, has extensive business, cultural and tourist exchanges with Lahore. The resumption of flights has attracted the attention and involvement of passengers from both countries. 
 
Zhang Bing, a passenger on the flight, said with excitement that before the resumption, passengers needed to travel from Lahore to Islamabad one day in advance. “The opening of flights from Lahore to Urumqi has shortened the entire journey”, he added.  Afridi, a businessman engaged in the import and export of small commodities between China and Pakistan, said that the resumption of flights has improved the efficiency of transportation and reduced logistics costs. Zhang Xingru, General Manager of China Southern Airlines Company Limited Lahore Office told CEN that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the resumption of flights between Urumqi and Lahore will further promote connectivity and boost the high-quality construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
 
Following the resumption of the flights, the airline company has increased the number of routes from Urumqi to Pakistan to both Lahore and Islamabad and realized daily service for the two brotherly countries. “We are considering adding some new services after this resumption to meet the needs of passengers. We also look forward to expanding the air route network and operating more flights between Pakistan and China in the future, so as to contribute to Pak-China collaboration in economy, trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges”, Zhang Xingru added. 

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP