The Longest Commercial Flight From China To Mexico Launched Next Week, Traveling 14,147 Km For 16 Hours Non-stop

Illustration of the China Southern Airlines aircraft fleet. (Wikimedia Commons/N509FZ)

JAKARTA - China's Southern Airlines opened its first direct flight from Shenzen City, China to Mexico City, Mexico, the longest non-stop regular commercial flight from the Bamboo Curtain country.

The flight, which will cover an intercontinental distance of about 14,147 kilometers (8,790 miles), is planned to start next week.

Its inaugural flight departs from the metropolitan city of Shenzhen in southern China on May 11, traveling non-stop for 16 hours to Mexico City, according to information available from China Southern Airlines, reported by CNN May 1.

Later, this flight from China will be available to passengers every Tuesday and Saturday.

As for the opposite flight, this route will be a bit more tiring and long with an estimated flight time of around 21 hours 20 minutes. This flight will be available every Wednesday and Sunday starting 12th.

A slightly longer route to China includes a short stop to refuel atTENance, where passengers must remain on board.

The round trip uses flight code CZ8031/2 and will be served by Airbus A350 aircraft, according to a report from SZ News, a state affiliate news outlet based in Shenzhen.

China Southern Airlines' latest route overtook a Guangzhou flight to New York which is also served by this airline covering a distance of 12,871 kilometers, as the furthest non-stop commercial flight departing from Chinese airport.

Currently, Singapore's 15,332-kilometer flight route to New York operated by Singapore Airlines occupies the top position as the longest non-stop flight in the world, which takes about 19 hours each way.

China's newest Southern Airline route will beat Singapore Airlines flights from Singapore to Los Angeles and occupy 8th place on the world's longest list of flights compiled by the OAG flight analysis database.

It is known, China last year reopened its borders to travelers for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. Since then, airlines have restored flight routes that had stalled or been reduced during this pandemic, especially long-distance flights to the United States and across Europe.

China Southern Airlines, the first Chinese airline to operate flights to Mexico, launched the Guangzhou-Vancouver-Mexico City route in April 2017, according to a report from China's state media office, Xinhua at the time.