Published : 2024-05-27
China has air traffic with about 70 countries around the world and hundreds of international routes. One of them spans four continents, takes nearly 26 hours, and is the longest flight route in China and the world.
Over 900 international routes in China
How many international routes does China have? According to official figures, China had 5,521 civil aviation routes in 2019, including 953 international routes.
After the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020, domestic and foreign routes were significantly reduced, and they gradually recovered in the second half of 2023, and new routes were even opened afterwards.
One of China's ultra-long-haul international routes is the flight from Shenzhen to Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, which flew for the first time on May 11, 2024.
According to reports, this route was operated by China Southern Airlines, with a total distance of over 14,000 KM, a flight time of about 16 hours, setting a new record for the longest international non-stop flight in China; the previous record was the flight from Guangzhou to New York in the USA.
However, there is one particular point about this route - the flight from Shenzhen to Mexico City is a non-stop flightt, but the return flight stops in Tijuana, a city in northwest Mexico.
Differences in direct and non-stop flight
There is a distinction between "non-stop" and "direct" in aircraft routes. The former is a "one-stop direct" destination, also known as a "non-landing route". The latter is that the plane may stop at a third, even fourth or fifth place, but the same flight number is used for the entire flight, and passengers do not need to change planes, the flight from Mexico City back to Shenzhen is an example.
If passengers need to change planes halfway, the two segments are considered two routes.
The concepts of "direct" and "non-stop" often get confused, and the same word can even have completely different meanings. But the main thing to know is the difference between stopovers and non-stop flights, and the difference between stopovers and connecting flights.
That being said, if only "non-stop" is counted, the flight from Shenzhen to Mexico City should be China's longest international route, but don't forget that China also has international routes that stop at a third place. With refuelling stops in the middle of the journey, the route can be even longer.
Beijing-Madrid-Sao Paulo Flight Route
Including non-stop and stops, the current longest international route in China departs from Beijing, stops in Madrid, Spain, and finally arrives in Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, where many Chinese people live.
Operated by Air China, the journey spans Asia, Europe, Africa and South America, passing over countries such as Mongolia, Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Cape Verde in Western Africa, to reach Brazil .
It has a distance of 17,584 km, which is almost half the distance of the earth. The whole journey takes nearly 26 hours (the return journey is slightly shorter); in terms of worldwide scope, its distance is also reported to be the longest.
There have been reports that due to the long flight duration, this route needs to be operated with 4 aircrews. Since there are only two flights a week, flying, resting after landing, waiting for the next flight to continue. It takes two weeks for each crew to complete a round trip.
Read more: Which country is the farthest from China?
The Beijing-Madrid-Sao Paulo route had been launched as early as 2006 but was then suspended due to the pandemic and other causes, and resumed in April 2024.
In addition to the Beijing-Madrid-Sao Paulo route, the "17000 km-range" also includes routes from Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, with stops in third places, to Europe.
If it is "non-stop", the longest route was originally from Singapore to New York, USA, with a total distance of over 15,000 km, but Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong to New York route, due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, must circumnavigate Russia's airspace. After taking a "detour", the total distance is over 16,000 km, making it the world's number one.
It has been reported that airlines are planning to start a direct route from Sydney, Australia to London, UK, with a total distance of close to 17,000 km.
Read more: Where is the largest and smallest airport in China?
