All routes lead to Chengdu
New services from South Korea, Russia, and Turkey to the Sichuan capital
All routes lead to Chengdu
New services from South Korea, Russia, and Turkey to the Sichuan capital
August 26th, 2026. Air Busan has earmarked September 3rd to launch direct flights between its home base in Busan. and Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province. The service will operate twice a week, departing on Sundays and Thursdays.
Flight number BX3835 will depart from Gimhae International Airport, Busan, at 21:10 and will arrive at Chengdu’s Tianfu International Airport at 00:15 the next morning. The return leg, flight number BX3845, will leave Chengdu at 02:05 and will land back in Busan at 07:00
An Airbus A321 aircraft will serve the route, and the journey time will be approximately four hours in each direction.
• I wasn’t able to get the Air Busan website to load at the time of writing, but Skyscanner found several agents that are offering the flight.
From Novosibirsk
Russian carrier S7 Airlines also has a route to Chengdu lined up. The service, from Novosibirsk, at the eastern end of the Ob River in Siberia, will operate twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, starting on October 26th.
Flight number S75751 will take off from Novosibirsk’s Tolmachevo Airport at 20:20 and will arrive in Chengdu at 02:15 the next day. The return trip, flight number S75752, will depart from Chengdu at 03:15 on Tuesdays and Fridays and arrive back in Novosibirsk at 07:25.
The outbound journey time will be approximately five hours, and the return, a little longer. An Airbus A320 aircraft will serve the route.
From Istanbul
On November 11th, Turkish Airlines will launch a service from Istanbul to Chengdu, complementing their routes to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The flight will operate three times a week, departing on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Flight number TK226 will depart from Istanbul International Airport at 02:05 and will arrive in Chengdu at 15:40. The return leg, flight number TK227, will leave Chengdu at 00:45 on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and will touch down again in Istanbul at 05:55.
A Boeing 787-9 will serve the flight, and the duration will be eight hours and thirty-five minutes for the outbound journey and a little over ten hours for the return.
Picture: Jinli Street, Chengdu via Wikimedia Commons
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