Luxembourg's airport awaits its first direct flight from China

Luxembourg Airport is preparing to welcome the historic first arrival from China. However. approximately 340 passengers are expected to undergo screening upon arrival. The Chinese airline, "China Southern," is eager to materialise discussions that started nearly a decade ago regarding a direct route connecting Zhengzhou Airport in China to Luxembourg.

The groundwork for direct connections between the two nations was laid a decade ago when the Chinese investment group HNCA acquired a 35 percent stake in the Luxembourgish cargo airline. Since then, the alliance has only been reinforced through weekly Cargolux flights touching down at the international airports in Zhengzhou and the Henan province, both prominent multimodal logistic hubs.

The former minister of transports François Baush already expressed in 2014: “This cooperation is working extremely well. Surely, this is very positive for Cargolux. "

The success is evident, with a total of 466 flights in the first eight months of 2021 alone. The idea of expanding this collaboration to include passenger flights between Zhengzhou and Luxembourg has been under consideration for a considerable period. This proposal is not new, as approximately 10,000 Chinese tourists annually visit the Grand Duchy, usually arriving on commercial flights that land in Amsterdam or Frankfurt.

The exact reason for the delayed establishment of this direct route is challenging to identify, and the pandemic may have contributed to the delay. Notably, HNCA has a connection to the venture as a shareholder of "China Southern," the airline responsible for the newly established passenger flights. On December 21, the inaugural flight is expected to land at Findel Airport, offering an intriguing opportunity for tourists, complete with a departure flight scheduled for the following day. The proximity of Zhengzhou to Shanghai adds to the appeal for travelers, with Automobileclub already organizing a trip for its members. Despite this exciting development, the absence of an official announcement on the webpage raises questions.

A plausible explanation for the absence of an official announcement might be the potential cancellation of the entire venture if the Chinese airline deems the connection with the Luxembourgish airport unprofitable. However, Alexander Flassak, the director of Luxembourg Airport, assures that preparations are in full swing: "For the past couple of months, we have been working with the airline, ground staff, customs, and the police to prepare these flights and to be ready when the time comes."

Currently, a weekly round-trip flight featuring an Airbus A350-900 is scheduled until March. According to Alexander Flassak, this plan would involve approximately 314 passengers per flight, all of whom would undergo screening in the small but appropriately designated non-Schengen area at Findel:

"The chosen time slots for the flights are on Thursday evenings and Friday early afternoons. These specific slots are designated to ensure that no other non-Schengen flights are allowed to depart or land during these times. Ideally, the China flight would be the sole arrival or departure during these slots, although we recognise that full compliance may be challenging due to visa allocation and passport screening times."

The anticipation at the airport for this new opportunity is palpable. If everything proceeds as planned, this route would mark the longest flight ever to depart or land at Findel Airport, requiring approximately 10 hours for the journey to China and 11 hours for the return trip. The cost of the most affordable round-trip flight is set at 975 Euros.

Video report in Luxembourgish: