Published on : Tuesday, September 3, 2019
JUST OVER A year after launching the first direct flights between Ireland and mainland China, Hainan Airlines is axing its Dublin to Shenzhen service and putting its flights to Beijing on ice until 2020.
The Chinese airline is no longer taking bookings for its Dublin-Shenzhen service after 26 August and its route connecting the Irish capital with Beijing is closed for reservations after the first week of October, according to data provided to Fora by flight analytics firm OAG.
Fora has contacted Hainan Airlines for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
A spokesman for Dublin Airport said it is disappointed that Hainan had decided to suspend the Beijing service for the winter and end its flights to Shenzhen, but understood that the decision was part of a wider programme of capacity reductions.
It is understood that the departing direct Beijing flight from Dublin was more than 80% full for the past three months.
The move comes just days after Ireland was named ‘most promising overseas destination’ at a summit of travel influencers organised by Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons told Fora that Hainan’s decision to suspend the Dublin-Beijing flight until 2020 and to cancel the Shenzhen service is “very regrettable”.