Air China celebrated its inaugural flight from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU) to Milano Malpensa Airport (MXP).
Flight CA445 departed Chengdu at 13:50 local time on July 29, 2024, and touched down in Milan at 06:24 local time on the same day. The flight, operated by an A350-900 with registration B-307C, was full, carrying 279 passengers.
TFU is one of two international airports serving Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in Southwestern China.
The direct flight operates three times weekly, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Milan is the economic and fashion capital of Italy and, unlike other Italian cities, it is mainly visited by high-spending travelers intent on shopping rather than for tourism.
A July 2024 report by Chinese luxury media outlet Jing Daily found that the return of Chinese tourists to Italy has been a huge windfall for the country’s luxury market.
Chinese tourists are returning to Europe with robust spending power and a keen interest in luxury shopping, and Milan remains the city of choice for tax-free spending, contributing 44% of sales volume which has recovered to 65% of 2019’s level.
In a Facebook post Milan Airport said that Air China’s Chengdu-Milan service is a confirmation of economic and tourist relations between China and Italy “growing rapidly”.
Milan marks the third European city that Air China flies direct to from Chengdu. The other two are to/from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and London-Heathrow Airport (LHR).
