Air China is launching an air route from Hangzhou to Frankfurt via Beijing on October 27, 2009.

According to Huang Weilin, the general manager of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, this will be the first scheduled intercontinental passenger route from Zhejiang.

Five flights will depart from Hangzhou each week at 21:00 Beijing time, and arrive at Frankfurt at 06:00 local time. From January 1, 2010, the frequency will be increased to seven flights a week.

It is learned that Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is expected to open several international air routes in the first half of 2010: including the Hangzhou to Ho Chi Minh City scheduled route, a charter route from Hangzhou to Okinawa, and a Hangzhou-Dubai-Madrid roundtrip route.