China will increase flights to and from the five countries of Central Asia in a bid to strengthen regional connectivity and economic exchanges, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the country's aviation regulator.
Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, will open an air route to Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, on Thursday, Sun Wensheng, deputy head of the CAAC's general department, told a press conference on Tuesday.
Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and host city of the upcoming China-Central Asia Summit, will have passenger air routes to all Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The Xi'an-Urumqi-Dushanbe route will be operated every Thursday.
Over the weekend, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport opened a route to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. The Xi'an-Urumqi-Ashgabat route is scheduled to be operated every Saturday.
