CHENGDU - A direct passenger air route connecting Chengdu, the capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan province, to Milan, Italy, was launched on Monday, according to the operator.

A fully loaded A350 flight carrying 279 passengers took off from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport at 1:50 am on Monday and is scheduled to arrive in Milan at 7:30 am (local time).

The service operates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, managed by Air China's Southwest branch. The return flight departs Milan at 12:45 pm (local time) with a flight duration of nearly 12 hours.

Chengdu has established a major network of intercontinental passenger routes to Europe, North America, Oceania and Africa, covering nearly all key Asian destinations.