China Flights Update — 17 July 2026

flights • 17 July 2026

Two major new international flight routes to China have launched recently, with **Malaysia Airlines** beginning direct services from Kuala Lumpur to **Shenzhen** (July 1) and **Changsha** (July 8), while **Riyadh Air** has received regulatory approval to launch new nonstop flights to **Beijing** and **Shanghai** from Saudi Arabia [1][2]. For Australian travellers, the Malaysia Airlines expansion is particularly relevant as it strengthens connectivity to southern and central China via a major regional hub, offering up to seven weekly flights on each route using Boeing 737-8 aircraft [2][4]. The Shenzhen route (flight MH522) departed Kuala Lumpur on July 1, followed by the Changsha service (flight MH520) on July 8, bringing Malaysia Airlines' total Chinese destinations to nine [2][6]. While Riyadh Air has been authorised by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to operate three weekly flights to Beijing Daxing and four weekly flights to Shanghai Pudong, the airline has not yet announced its specific start date for these China routes [1]. Additional recent developments include the resumption of **Air China’s** direct service between **London Gatwick and Chengdu** (four weekly flights from July 12), improving access to southwestern China [3]. Furthermore, China has added seven new international passenger destinations overall, including a new scheduled route between **Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Xi'an** that commenced on July 1 [11]. New routes are also emerging in East Asia, with **China Eastern Airlines** and **Loong Air** launching direct links from **Nanjing** and **Hangzhou** to **Busan, South Korea**, respectively [12].

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