Tijuana now has the San Diego border region’s only nonstop flight to this major Asian capital (original) (raw)

The region’s only nonstop flight to Beijing has resumed at the Tijuana International Airport and is likely to draw travelers from both sides of the San Diego-Tijuana border.

The twice-weekly service by Hainan Airlines returned Friday since it was shuttered four years ago.

The international service, which originally began in the spring of 2018, was paused in January 2020 due to runway rehabilitation work. Then COVID-19 hit, said Tijuana International Airport Administrator, Carlos Salgado.

The route from Beijing includes Mexico City, but Tijuana passengers bypass that part of the trip. There will be two flights a week starting from Mexico City to Tijuana to Beijing on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and return flights from Beijing to Tijuana to Mexico City on Mondays and Fridays, the airline announced. Flights will be aboard a Boeing 789 with about 290 seats.

In the nearly two years the flight operated before it was suspended, it averaged 170 passengers per trip on a slightly smaller aircraft, Salgado estimated. He noted the region’s strong business tourism due to Mexico’s trade relationship with China.

China is one of Baja California’s main trading partners. The state imports Chinese products such as electronics, machinery and textiles, among others.

Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco, and Mexico’s Ambassador to China, Jesús Seade Kuri, met in China with Hainan Airlines executives this week.

“Mexico and the Republic of China are strategic partners. Our relationship is bound by strong cultural and commercial ties, and tourism is no exception,” Torruco said in a news release. “Thousands of visitors travel between the two countries every year.”

Chinese travel to Mexico has been booming recently**.** From January to May, nearly 85,000 tourists arrived in Mexico by air from China, a 13 percent increase from pre-pandemic times in 2019, and 48 percent from the same period last year, according to data from Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism.

Estimated economic revenue from the first five months of the year amounted to more than $104 million, up 54 percent from the same period last year.

The Beijing route will be Tijuana airport’s third international flight, along with American Airlines’ nonstop flight to Phoenix and Volaris’ recently announced service to Las Vegas, which will begin in October.

China Southern Airlines currently operates a flight between Shenzhen, China, and Mexico City that stops in Tijuana for refueling, Salgado said. He expects that the airline could soon add Tijuana as part of the route and begin picking up passengers, as well.

This will be the only nonstop flight from the San Diego-Tijuana region to Beijing. Currently, the only nonstop service to Asia from the San Diego International Airport is Japan Airlines’ flight to Tokyo.

The new flight is expected to draw San Diego travelers, who can cross the border via the Cross Border Xpress, or CBX, terminal, a sky-bridge that connects Otay Mesa with the Tijuana International Airport.

“It’s something unique,” Salgado said. “It has given us a big push to have more passengers. It’s something that’s very convenient and we don’t think we’ve taken full advantage of it yet. We believe that with these flights, especially to China and Asia, we’re going to have a lot more opportunities.”

Staff writer Lori Weisberg contributed to this report.