The launching ceremony of the first flight of the Shanghai-Cairo air route of the China Eastern Airlines is held in Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 11, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

China Eastern Airlines began operating direct flights between Shanghai and the Egyptian capital Cairo on Monday, the operator has announced.

The new service makes three round trips per week on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, it said, adding it was the first Chinese airline to operate the Shanghai-Cairo air route.

The first flight departed from Shanghai Pudong International Airport with 232 passengers onboard. It arrived at Cairo International Airport at 7:19 am local time (0519 GMT) on Monday.

A ceremony was held in Cairo late Monday to mark the launch of the first flight of the new air route, which was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang and Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Abbas Helmy.

Hailing the increasing people-to-people exchanges between China and Egypt in recent years, the Chinese ambassador said bilateral cooperation in the aviation sector would continue to expand and called for efforts to step up cooperation in aircraft maintenance and airport services, among other fields.

The Egyptian minister said the launch of the Shanghai-Cairo route would continue to promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Headquartered in Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines is one of the three major state-owned airlines in China.

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