Xiamen Airlines has begun direct flights between Xiamen and Heathrow, with its inaugural service landing at the London airport on Sunday 6 September, giving Fujian province its first-ever nonstop passenger route to the UK capital.
Flight MF821 departed Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport carrying 263 passengers and landed at Heathrow after a flight of around 12 hours, according to an official XiamenAir statement distributed via PR Newswire. The airline said the route removes the need for stopovers in third countries that previously made up every journey between the two cities.
The service will run three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, XiamenAir confirmed. Flight MF821 departs Xiamen at 00:50 local time and arrives at Heathrow at 06:35, while the return service, MF822, leaves Heathrow at 12:35 and lands back in Xiamen at 07:00 the following morning.
China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) had confirmed the launch date in an official notice in June, describing the route as Fujian province's first direct air link to London and part of a wider push to connect the region to core European markets. Independent aviation coverage from thetraveler.org, published the following day, reported that before the route opened, travellers moving between Xiamen and London had to connect through hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai, Doha or Amsterdam, adding hours to the journey. The nonstop link cuts that transit time out entirely.
For passengers, the schedule is built around same-day connections at both ends. The early-morning Heathrow