• China Eastern Airlines, one of China’s state-owned carriers, will begin scheduled flights from Xi’an to Istanbul Airport (IGA) starting June 24.
• The flights will operate three times a week—on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays—using Airbus A330 aircraft.
• This will mark the first scheduled service from Xi’an to Istanbul since the pandemic. Turkish Airlines had briefly operated flights to Xi’an in 2019, but they were suspended shortly afterward due to the pandemic.
• Xi’an is one of China’s oldest capitals and a starting point of the historic Silk Road. The city is famous for the Terracotta Army—thousands of soldier statues built to guard the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. It also features notable Buddhist landmarks such as the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.
