Visitors tour the Chengdu garden of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2024 Chengdu in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

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 a.m. on Monday and is scheduled to arrive in Milan at 7:30 a.m. (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 p.m. (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.