A passenger aircraft of China Southern Airlines receives water salute after landing at the Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary on June 27, 2024. A new direct air route linking Guangzhou, the capital of South China's Guangdong province, with Budapest in Hungary, was launched on June 27. 

The first scheduled passenger flight between Chinese city Guangzhou and the Hungarian capital Budapest, operated by China Southern Airlines, landed at Ferenc Liszt International Airport on June 27.

As a part of the Hungarian government's "Eastern Opening" policy and China's Belt and Road Initiative, the two countries continue to deepen their bilateral ties with Hungary now having more direct flights to China than any other country in Eastern Europe, according to Boglarka Illes, state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

"We are very pleased that our bilateral relations, our economic and trade relations are also steadily developing," Illes said after the Boeing 787-9 aircraft landed carrying over 200 passengers.

Francois Berisot, CEO of Budapest Airport, said that the new China Southern Airlines flight would create new opportunities for both business and leisure travelers. "Guangzhou has always played a prominent role in international commerce and is still one of China's most important economic hubs attracting businesspeople and investors from all over the world," Berisot said.

Described as a "milestone" in developing China-Hungary relations, the flight's launch is expected to boost bilateral cooperation in business, trade, and investment, according to China Southern Airlines' Executive Vice President Qu Guangji and China's Ambassador to Hungary Gong Tao.

China Southern Airlines will operate a 12-hour flight between Guangzhou and Budapest four times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.