DALLAS — Scotland's largest airport, Edinburgh International Airport (EDI), announced that Hainan Airlines (HU) will increase its flights to the airport in the summer of 2024. The seasonal route will run from May 17, 2024, through October 26, 2024. Between June 1 and September 30, the airline will operate four weekly flights between Beijing (PEK) and Edinburgh; however, during the nonpeak summer months, this will decrease to two weekly flights.

According to a press release from EDI, HU will initially operate flights between the Scottish and Chinese capitals on Mondays and Fridays. Then, during the peak summer months, the airline will add flights on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Chinese carrier will operate the route using an Airbus A330-300, the only flight connecting Scotland and China.

This is not the first time the Haikou-based carrier has operated flights to Scotland, as the airline operated the same seasonal route last summer. Before the pandemic, HU operated a fifth freedom flight between Beijing and Edinburgh, where the aircraft then went on to Dublin, Ireland (DUB). Nonetheless, this route lasted only a year before it was axed in 2019 due to the excessive aviation tax required to operate in Dublin. Now, as the route only runs between Edinburgh and Beijing, HU will have to pay a lower aviation tax, giving the route a higher chance of success.

The news came after the airline announced an increase in the frequency of its flights from Beijing to Manchester (MAN) to a daily service during the peak summer months next year. Manchester was the first destination in the United Kingdom served by HU and has continued to be an integral part of the airline's European route network since flights commenced in 2016.

Even though HU is not an alliance member, the airline partners with the largest regional airline in the United Kingdom, Loganair (LM). Loganair brands itself as "Scotland's Airline" and has a significant hub at EDI, allowing Hainan passengers to connect from EDI to destinations throughout the United Kingdom from HU.

In a statement by EDI's CEO, Gordon Dewar, it was said that it was "great to see our partners at Hainan Airlines grow their presence at Edinburgh Airport and maintain that crucial direct connectivity between Scotland and China...These additional flights will also offer people in Scotland more opportunities to experience China and increase the potential for closer working and investment prospects for businesses both at home and abroad."

Featured image: Hainan Airlines Airbus A330-200 landing. Photo: Tony Bordelais/Airways