Hainan Airlines Plans Egypt Return With 787-9s

The carrier last offered regular scheduled service to Africa more than a decade ago with flights between Beijing and Angola’s capital Luanda, operating via Abu Dhabi. However, destinations in the continent have been absent from its route map ever since.

Starting on Jan. 21, 2024, Hainan Airlines will commence flights from Shenzhen Baoan International Airport (SZX) to Cairo International Airport (CAI). The 5,015-mi. (4,358-nm) sector will be served three times per week using Boeing 787-9 aircraft, according to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser.

The move also marks the carrier’s return to the Egyptian market, where it previously operated a direct route to Cairo from Beijing Capital International Airport. The service, inaugurated in November 2010, concluded the following year after the 2011 uprising that led to the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Hainan Airlines’ latest plans follow Star Alliance member EgyptAir’s decision to open a fourth route to China in November with the launch of operations from CAI to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG). Additionally, China Eastern Airlines began a PVG-CAI route on Dec. 11 using Airbus A350-900s, becoming its first African route in over 15 years.

These new flights between Shanghai and Cairo restored nonstop connectivity between Egypt and Shanghai after a five-year hiatus. Previously, the now-defunct Cairo-based charter carrier Air Leisure operated weekly flights using A330-200s between Aswan International Airport and PVG, until suspending its operations in October 2018.

In the Shenzhen-Cairo market, Hainan Airlines will become the sole operator of flights on the route and the only airline to connect the Chinese city with North Africa. One other Africa route operates from SZX at present, with Air China offering a 3X-weekly service to Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport using A350-900s.

The increase in capacity between China and Egypt follows a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jingping and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in October, where the two leaders pledged to further strengthen ties. Relations between Beijing and Cairo are already strong, with Egypt's imports from China rising to more than $14 billion in 2022, up from about $8 billion five years earlier.