China's civil aviation sector is set for a much busier 2025 winter-spring flight season, with multiple new international routes scheduled to open and foreign airlines resuming flights to China.
A total of 191 airlines are to operate 21,427 international flights a week to and from China, a year-on-year increase of 10.8 percent, connecting China with 83 countries, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
Data from the CAAC showed that this season will feature a comprehensive growth in flight frequencies between China and the rest of the world. Passenger flights with 57 countries have surpassed last year's winter-spring season and cargo flights with 21 countries have exceeded the previous season's levels.
"In the new flight season, we're planning an average of over 11 percent more international and regional flights per week compared to the 2024 winter-spring season. Since last year, we've launched 23 new medium- and long-haul international routes. The upcoming Shanghai-Auckland-Buenos Aires route to be launched on Dec 4 will become the world's longest. We'll achieve full route coverage across every continent on the globe," said Wang Qian, a senior manager of VIP services of China Eastern Airlines.
The new season will see the inauguration of passenger routes to Oman and Argentina, alongside new cargo routes to Panama, Chile and Switzerland.
Passenger flights with Belt and Road partner countries accounted for 73.5 percent of the total, while passenger flights to Latin America and Africa increased by 32.1 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively, from the previous winter-spring season.
"In the past, there were very few flights to Kenya. But now there are daily ones, and you can fly there directly from many cities across China," said Peng Dexin, a Chinese passenger.
"I can fly directly from Brisbane in Australia, directly into Guangzhou, so it was very convenient to fly directly into China. I could pick from a number of days and it was a direct flight," said Markcus, a passenger from Australia.
Many foreign airlines are also pacing up to restore their routes to China.
India's IndiGo has resumed its Guangzhou-Kolkata route last month and launched Delhi-Guangzhou service on Monday. Air Algerie has also inaugurated a new Guangzhou-Algiers route.
China's civil aviation sector set for busy winter-spring flight season
At least four people were killed, and ten others injured after Israel attacked a hotel in the Lebanese capital Beirut early on Sunday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.
Israeli forces launched a drone attack at dawn, targeting a room at the Ramada hotel in the heart of the city. Following the strike, Israel said that the targets were key commanders of the Lebanon Corps of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.
The drone attack was the first Israeli attack on central Beirut since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah resumed, according to media reports.
The Ramada Hotel is located in Beirut's Raouche area, a popular tourist district near the landmark Pigeon Rocks along the Mediterranean coast.
All the windows in the targeted hotel room were shattered, and several adjacent rooms and the exterior facade of the hotel building were also damaged by the airstrike, according to a China Media Group reporter at the scene.
Witnesses said the area had been considered safe, and many displaced people fleeing southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut had taken refuge here, with some staying in hotels and others sleeping in their cars along nearby roads.
"At night, it was quiet until 1:35; there were no sounds of drones or anything at all. Suddenly, we heard something like a shell—very loud. We thought it was a warplane bombing in the area. We ran and saw smoke coming from the hotel, and glass was scattered in the streets. There was black smoke and dust. We ran to the Ramada hotel on the fourth floor, where flames were coming out. People began to exit, ambulances and information branch personnel arrived, and crowds formed," said Shawki Sharifi, an eyewitness.
Another eyewitness said the area was blocked after the attack, and the injured were taken to hospitals for treatment. Authorities said that there were fatalities at the scene.
On Sunday evening, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement, saying that the Israeli Navy carried out a precision strike on Beirut, targeting five senior commanders of Iran's IRGC Quds Force who were meeting at a hotel in the city.
The IDF said that the five commanders, "hiding in a civilian hotel," were all killed in the operation. The commanders had served in the Lebanese and Palestinian branches of IRGC and were involved in providing funding and intelligence to Hezbollah and Hamas, the IDF said in the statement.
The Lebanese authorities have not provided more details about the victims or the incident.
At least 4 killed, 10 injured in Israeli strike on hotel in Beirut
