We’ve waited long enough. For that, our reward is a summer schedule of flights out of Lukou which will take us to new and exotic destinations, a consolation somewhat making up for the fact we are still far from 2019 levels.
Highlights of the new schedule just announced by Nanjing Lukou International Airport to get excited about are the new flights to Siem Reap in Cambodia and Jeju Island in Korea.
For the former, Sky Angkor Airlines shall be operating three departures per week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays to the gateway to the famed Angkor Wat. The Nanjing – Siem Reap flights commence in May.
As for Jeju, or “Honeymoon Island” as it is affectionately known by the Koreans, that is slated to be a daily service. Juneyao Air will be flying the route from April that is a resumption of its pre-COVID operation.
Meanwhile, the newly announced schedule also reveals a dramatic uptick in the frequency of flights to many existing destinations.
Top among them are services to Thailand. Come the summer, no less than seven airlines shall be flying to Bangkok from Nanjing Lukou International Airport.
Firstly, there shall be Juneyao Air, Spring Airlines and Capital Airlines all flying on a daily basis to the Thai capital out of Lukou, with some beginning as early as April.
Then there will be Vietjet Air with departures every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; Lion Air on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; AirAsia every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; and NokAir, flying to Bangkok on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Still with Thailand, the once-weekly flight from Nanjing to Phuket on Juneyao Air, which made its debut as recently as this past Chinese New Year, becomes a daily service from 4 April.
Further afield, Scoot, which presently flies between Nanjing and Singapore, is to be getting some company, in the form of another budget carrier, Tigerair, which shall begin daily operations between the Southern Capital and the Island State from 6 June.
Then there is the long-haul flight to Milan in Italy, operated by Neos Air at present on Saturdays. That’s soon to change to a twice-weekly service, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
To to east, existing services to Japan and Korea are also receiving a shot in the arm. Spring Airlines’s fortnightly flight to Tokyo becomes twice-weekly, every Tuesday and Friday; while the popular Nanjing – Osaka link on Juneyao Air will soon be a daily service.
Across the Korea Strait, China Eastern is to be touching down in Seoul every day, while Korean Air will be flying on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; and Asiana Airlines every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday.
Finally, to regional flights to Hong Kong and Macao. Existing flights from operators including Cathay Pacific and Air Macau are to be augmented by daily flights to Hong Kong on Hong Kong Airlines and Macau on Shenzhen Airlines. The latter commences on 15 May.
Readers are advised this article references only new destinations out of Lukou and increased frequencies to existing destinations. Actual days and times remain subject to announcements from the airlines concerned.
For international services which remain unchanged, readers may refer to a list of all international and regional flights which The Nanjinger endeavours to keep up to date via this link.
Exciting as the new routes and additional services are, the fact remains Nanjing still operates far fewer flights these days, as the post-COVID recovery continues. CAAC East China Regional Administration reported on 17 March that passenger numbers for Nanjing Lukou International Airport were down 31 percent to 12.1 million in 2022.
The Nanjinger’s industry insider at Lukou also confided that, internationally, in terms of volume, the Airport seems to at present be at around 55 percent of 2019. The new raft of flights just announced is going to put quite a dent in that, finally.