XIAMEN, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's Xiamen Airlines on Tuesday launched a direct air route linking Xiamen, a coastal city in east China's Fujian Province, with Qatar's capital of Doha.

The Xiamen-Doha passenger service will use a Boeing 787 aircraft and offers a round-trip flight every Tuesday and Friday, shuttling between the Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport and the Hamad International Airport in Doha.

The outbound flight took off from Xiamen early Tuesday morning. The return flight is scheduled to leave Doha at 7:30 p.m. (local time).

This is the first direct flight service linking Fujian with Doha. Earlier this month, the airline company opened a direct air route linking Beijing and Doha, enabling the airline to become the first Chinese carrier operating the China-Qatar route.

Headquartered in Xiamen, the company said the launch of the Xiamen-Doha route further widens China's air channel to Qatar, adding to the Beijing-Doha air route.