Dublin Airport today welcomed the start of of Hainan Airlines' new direct service from Beijing to Dublin.
The year-round service is Dublin Airport's first ever direct route to mainland China and marks a major milestone for the Irish economy.
The Chinese carrier will operate Dublin to Beijing direct with an Airbus A330 plane on Tuesdays and Saturdays and via Edinburgh on Thursdays and Sundays.
Today's first flight of the new service came via Edinburgh and the departing flight was a direct service from Dublin to Beijing.
Last year 120,000 passengers travelled between Ireland and mainland China, with about a quarter of those people travelling between Dublin and Beijing.
China is the world's largest outbound travel market, and one of the fastest-growing, with trips from China predicted to grow to 200 million a year by 2020.
Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said that trade between Ireland and China is hugely important for the Irish economy and it is currently estimated to be worth more than €14.9 billion a year.
"The new direct route will greatly facilitate Irish firms and exporters with operations and clients in China, as well as China's financial services and technology companies investing in Ireland," Mr Harrison said.
"This new direct service makes travelling between the capital cities of Ireland and China much easier and I have no doubt it will be popular for both business and leisure travellers," he added.
