Xiamen Airlines has begun direct flights between Xiamen and Heathrow, with its inaugural service landing on Sunday 6 September, giving Fujian province its first ever nonstop passenger route to London.
Flight MF821 departed Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport with 263 passengers and landed at Heathrow after a 12-hour flight, 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 runs three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, using Boeing 787 aircraft. MF821 departs Xiamen at 00:50 local time and arrives at Heathrow at 06:35; the return, MF822, leaves Heathrow at 12:35 and lands in Xiamen at 07:00 the next morning.
China's Civil Aviation Administration confirmed the launch date in an official notice in June, calling the route Fujian's first direct air link to London. Independent coverage from thetraveler.org reported travellers previously had to connect through hubs such as Beijing, Doha or Amsterdam, adding hours to the journey.
The early Heathrow arrival gives business travellers time to reach meetings the same day, while the midday departure lines up with morning feeder flights into Heathrow from elsewhere in the UK.
What this means for your journey: if you are meeting the early-morning arrival or catching the midday departure back, build in extra time for terminal transfers. Check the /taxis/ and /public-transport/ pages for the latest advice on getting to and from Heathrow.