The 2022 Winter Olympic Games are right around the corner. This major international sporting event will be held in Beijing and will welcome athletes from all over the world. In support of athletes and officials from across the region traveling to the Chinese capital, Singapore Airlines is set to operate daily chartered flights from January 21st to March 16th.
Daily flights in support of the games
Supporting both Singaporean Olympic officials and athletes, as well as their foreign counterparts, Singapore Airlines will be operating daily flights between Singapore and Beijing. According to the South China Morning Post, the daily service between Singapore and Beijing will run from January 21st to March 16th, 2022.
The news was confirmed in a post from Singapore’s Transport Minister, S. Iswaran, who issued a statement following bilateral meetings between Beijing and Singapore:
“While air connectivity between our countries remains below 3% of pre-COVID levels, the Beijing Winter Olympics in Feb 2022 will be a good opportunity for us to enhance people-to-people exchanges as Singapore Airlines will be operating chartered flights through Changi Airport as a connecting hub for the region.” -S. Iswaran, Transport minister of Singapore
Iswaran also notes that bilateral discussions will continue regarding the mutual recognition of COVID-19 health certificates, which he calls “a key enabler for safe travel.”
Not for the public?
Offering a statement to Channel News Asia on December 30th, the airline said: “The flights are for both Singapore and foreign Olympic officials and athletes.”
Indeed, at the time of this article’s publication, it appears that there are no Singapore Airlines flights to Beijing bookable to the general public- at least according to the airline’s website.
Interestingly, data from RadarBox.com indicates that the carrier has been operating daily flights since the beginning of December- sometimes even operating flights twice daily. Flights take the form of services SQ801/802 and SQ806/807. However, these flights also don’t appear to be available to the public.
Singapore Airlines has been operating either a Boeing 787-10 or an Airbus A350-900 to connect the two cities. The duration of the flight is just under five and a half hours heading north, and closer to six hours heading south. It’s unknown whether the A380 will make an appearance on this route.
Channel News Asia also notes that games spokesperson Zhang Liang has confirmed that the games will be reliant on chartered and temporary flights to fly athletes and other participants to the games. Commercial flights will also supplement capacity. “During the peak periods of arrivals and departures to Beijing, an average of at least 15 inbound flights and 13 outbound flights can be provided every day,” Zhang added.
Beijing Capital International Airport will be the main hub for receiving and processing arrivals. With the global health crisis still having an impact worldwide, strict limits and restrictions are in place for travel into China.
Will you be attending or watching the 2022 games? Let us know by leaving a comment.
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