00:00Taking to the skies for the first time.
00:04This new route goes from the UK's second busiest airport to China's fifth largest city, Guangzhou.
00:11The service will operate three times a week.
00:14Some passengers are heading home.
00:16Others are taking the chance to explore somewhere new.
00:19I'm going over to Shanghai to visit my friend, so stop over in Hangzhou.
00:24And then we're hoping to go around to about seven or eight different towns and cities within the mountains.
00:29It's very convenient because Guangzhou has a lot of connection flights.
00:35It's very easy to go to almost every city in China.
00:40I think China wants to be opened up to the world and improve their connections.
00:45I think they're making great improvements, especially in a first-world country.
00:48They have amazing airports, so I'm excited to go to another new country.
00:52Passengers were given gifts to mark the inaugural flight.
00:56The Southern chose Guangzhou as it's where it's headquartered.
01:00And the airline hopes it can play a big part in connecting China with the rest of the world.
01:06Given the growing economic and cultural exchanges between China and the UK
01:10and the number of passengers travelling between the two countries,
01:14to meet market demand, we decided to open this new flight between Guangzhou and Gatwick.
01:19Passengers from the UK can take this flight and transfer to Australia, New Zealand,
01:24Southeast Asia nations, even Japan and South Korea.
01:28Gatwick now has 33 weekly flights to China.
01:32Flag carrier Air China launched a daily flight to Beijing Capital Airport earlier this month.
01:38And China Eastern runs a daily service to Shanghai.
01:42These new routes from Gatwick can also offer business opportunities between the two countries.
01:47In 2023, the UK exported close to $50 billion worth of goods and services to China.
01:53And the new flights will help strengthen commercial ties
01:56and also provide new opportunities and options for business and leisure travellers.
02:01Gatwick has put in an application to build a second runway
02:05that would double passenger numbers to 75 million a year by the late 2030s.
02:10But in the meantime, it hopes to become the first port of call for visitors from China to the UK.
02:16As an airport with extensive connectivity across Europe,
02:20particularly to markets such as Italy and France,
02:23which are highly popular for inbound tourism from China,
02:26we have the connectivity to those markets,
02:28and the Chinese passengers will therefore be able to enjoy what London and the South East has to offer,
02:33plus what Europe's highlights are as well.
02:35There's also been a surge in interest in China as a tourist destination among Europeans,
02:40with bookings up more than 600% over the past two years.
02:45Citizens from 11 European countries, including France, Spain and Ireland,
02:49can enter China visa-free for 15 days,
02:52and airports like Gatwick are hoping to see more nations added to that list.
02:57Siobhan McCall, CGTN, London Gatwick Airport.
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