Chinese carrier China Southern Airlines will relaunch a direct route between Beijing and Helsinki from 29 March 2026, restoring a connection that was removed five years ago amid pandemic disruptions and subsequent airspace complications.
The airline will initially operate three weekly services using Boeing 787-9 aircraft, with departures scheduled on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. From 20 June 2026, the route will be upgraded to daily service as demand increases during the summer travel season.
Flight CZ609 will depart Beijing Daxing International Airport at 14:20 local time and arrive at Helsinki Airport at 18:35. The return service will leave Helsinki at 20:35, arriving in Beijing the following morning. Flight time is just over nine hours.
The route marks China Southern Airlines’ first-ever service to Finland and the Nordic region.
“We are pleased to see this highly demanded Beijing route reopened after a five-year break. This flight will mark the first time China Southern Airlines is operating to Helsinki Airport and to the Nordics,” said Petri Vuori, Senior Vice President responsible for route development at Finavia.
According to Finavia, Helsinki will become Beijing Daxing International Airport’s first nonstop destination in Northern Europe and its first direct link to any European city.
Beijing Daxing, which opened in 2019, has faced challenges in attracting long-haul international traffic. China Southern Airlines, which serves as the airport’s anchor carrier, has gradually expanded its international network from Daxing. Existing European destinations include Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Rome, Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg and Istanbul, with Helsinki filling a geographic gap in the airline’s European coverage.
Filling a connectivity gap between Finland and China
The relaunch comes amid broader changes in Nordic–Asian aviation. Finnair, previously the dominant operator on Finland–China routes, sharply reduced its mainland China network after suspending services in March 2020. The airline currently operates two weekly winter flights to Shanghai, significantly fewer than before the pandemic, largely due to routing challenges linked to closed Russian airspace.
At present, Juneyao Airlines operates flights from Helsinki to Shanghai and Zhengzhou. China Southern’s new service will provide the only direct connection between Helsinki and Beijing.
For passengers, the route offers expanded connectivity in both directions. From Beijing Daxing, travellers can access a wide domestic Chinese network as well as onward connections across Asia, including Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Dhaka. Helsinki Airport, in turn, serves as a compact hub for onward travel to destinations across Scandinavia, the Baltics and Western Europe.
Beyond passenger traffic, the route is expected to support Finland’s export-oriented economy. Sectors such as technology, forestry and clean energy rely heavily on air cargo for time-sensitive shipments to Asia, and direct access to Beijing offers same-day connectivity to northern China’s industrial regions.
China Southern’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft provides belly-hold cargo capacity alongside passenger services, offering additional options for Finnish exporters seeking to avoid congested European hubs.
