Egypt's national carrier EgyptAir announced Sunday that it will relaunch direct flights from Cairo to Beijing, China, after a two-year hiatus.

"EgyptAir will launch four flights per week to Beijing via Bangkok on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and back to Cairo on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays starting from Oct. 30," EgyptAir board Chairman Sherif Jalal told reporters.

A direct flight operated by EgyptAir will take about 16 hours from Cairo to Beijing or the way round, down from more than 20 hours of current indirect flights offered by other airlines, said Mohammed Mounir, head of the company's commercial sector.

Planes specified for the purpose will be Boeing 777 which can accommodate up to 319 passengers, said Mounir.

As part of the promotion campaign, EgyptAir will offer inexpensive two-way tickets in Cairo which cost just 1,999 Egyptian pounds (about 348 US dollars) for the first month of direct flights.

Generally, two-way tickets offered by other airlines now cost more than 5000 Egyptian pounds (about 870 dollars).

EgyptAir first launched direct flights between Cairo and Beijing in 2003, but the company later cancelled them due to low numbers of passengers.

Established in 1932, EgyptAir is the largest airline in Egypt. It currently operates more than 400 weekly flights from Cairo and several other Egyptian cities to more than 66 international and domestic destinations in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America.

Source: Xinhua