United Airlines has announced in Beijing that the US Department of Transportation (DOT) had approved its plan to launch the first non-stop service between Washington D.C. and Beijing.
The service will be launched within 90 days. DOT selected the daily service between Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., and Beijing Capital International Airport over proposals from American, Continental and Northwest airlines.
Experts said creating a link between Washington D.C. and Beijing is an important step in the communications between the United States and China 30 years after diplomatic relations were normalized.
The service will allow Washington D.C. to join 28 other world capitals in offering a non-stop service to Beijing. More than 8 million people live in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, making it the largest market in the US without a non-stop service to China.
(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2007)