(Yicai) May 30 -- Bahrain flag carrier Gulf Air has started operating its first non-stop passenger flights from the Middle Eastern country to China, with Shanghai and Guangzhou as its first destinations.

Gulf Air completed its maiden Bahrain-Shanghai flight yesterday, while its first flight to Guangzhou will take off late today. The carrier will operate four flights to Shanghai and three to Guangzhou every week, all using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Foreign airlines have launched more direct flights from the Middle East to China following the Covid-19 pandemic. Around 80 percent of passengers on flights operated by Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Turkish Airlines from China to the Middle East transfer for other destinations, Yicai learned.

Gulf Air's network covers the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, with 60 to 70 percent of passengers from China to Bahrain continuing to other countries in those regions, Chief Executive Jeffrey Goh told Yicai. The carrier allies with Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and Juneyao Airlines to sell tickets, he added.

Chinese airlines have also opened many new routes to the Middle East. China Southern Airlines, China Eastern, and Air China have launched direct flights to Riyadh over the past month. Saudia was the only airline with non-stop flights between the Chinese mainland and Saudi Arabia before 2019.

Air China and China Eastern have direct flights to Istanbul, China Southern and Xiamen Airlines run flights to Qatar, while Hainan Airlines operates two Haikou-Abu Dhabi flights a week.

Flights from China to the Middle East have exceeded the number from before the pandemic, according to Flight Master data. However, flights between China and the United States have recovered to only 20 percent of the level of 2019.

The number of flights between China and Türkiye has jumped 144 percent from before the pandemic, that between China and the United Arab Emirates rose 123 percent, between China and Qatar climbed 142 percent, and between China and Saudi Arabia surged 343 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev