YINCHUAN, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- A flight carrying over 260 passengers took off Sunday from Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, heading for Dubai.

This marked the resumption of the Yinchuan-Dubai direct flight route, which was previously suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The air service will run once a week on a Sunday.

The outbound flight will leave Yinchuan at 11:40 a.m. Beijing Time and arrive in Dubai at 3:55 p.m. local time. The return flight will depart Dubai at 6:00 p.m. local time and arrive in Yinchuan at 5:05 a.m. Beijing Time the next day.

After its inception in 2015, the Yinchuan-Dubai direct flight route played an important role in linking China with Arab countries.

Its resumption will help Ningxia better serve the China-Arab States Expo, said Xu Xiaoping, head of the regional department of commerce.

The sixth China-Arab States Expo will take place in Yinchuan from Sept. 21 to 24.

Source: Xinhua