New air route expected to bring 30,000 Russians to Sanya annually

The city of Sanya in Hainan province started operating a new air route to the Russian city of Samara on Oct 13 following the landing of an Airbus 330-200 plane at Sanya Phoenix International Airport with 310 passengers on board.

The route is operated by Russian iFly Airlines with one flight offered on Wednesdays and Sundays between the two cities. It is expected to bring over 30,000 tourists to Sanya every year.

To date, Sanya Phoenix International Airport has operated a total of 37 overseas and regional routes, with destinations covering Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, India, the United Kingdom, as well as other countries and regions.

The city of Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast, Russia, with an area of 536,000 square kilometers. The urban area accounts for 80.2 percent of the total, while its population is 1.16 million. The per capita GDP of Samara is $7,217. As the first industrial city in Russia, Samara boasts leading industries like automobile manufacturing and machine manufacturing, chemicals and petrochemicals, as well as metallurgy and electricity.

The opening of the scheduled route will greatly facilitate trade and tourism between the two cities, further enhancing Sanya's internationalization and helping it build a network of international routes.