Direct Harbin Air Link between Northeast China and Central Japan

China's budget carrier Spring Airlines has opened a new air link between the city of Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, and Nagoya, Japan, as of June 29, local news portal my399 reports, noting that this is the city’s first air route to the central Japan, and the airline’s second international flight from Harbin.

The first flight, which connects Harbin with Jeju Island, in the Republic of Korea, took off on Dec 25, 2014.

The airline says that this flight, using an A320, is scheduled to depart Nagoya at 07:00 am and arrive in Harbin at 10:30 am Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and then depart Harbin at 11:25 am the same day, returning to Nagoya at 2:45 pm.

Japan and South Korea were the top overseas destinations for Chinese tourists this year’s week-long Spring Festival, in late February and for the Tomb Sweeping holiday, April 4 - 6, an airline representative said. And a recent Japanese survey has shown that more than 2.4 million Chinese tourists visited Japan last year, up 83 percent year-on-year, so, the airline expects that Japan could be a real hot tourist spot for the coming summer vacation.

Previously, when Harbin had no direct flight to Nagoya, travelers had to transfer through another airport and could spend anywhere from 6 to 12 hours getting there at a higher price, whereas now it takes only 3.5 hours.