CHENGDU, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- A direct passenger air route connecting Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, to Vienna, Austria, was launched on Sunday, according to the operator.

A flight departed from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport at 2:49 a.m. Sunday, and was scheduled to arrive in Vienna at about 6 a.m. local time after a trip duration of 10 hours and 20 minutes.

The route is operated by Hainan Airlines, with a round-trip flight scheduled every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The return flight leaves Vienna at 12:30 p.m. local time before touching down in Chengdu nine hours and 40 minutes later at 5:10 a.m. the next day.

Chengdu collaborates with Vienna in areas such as music, art, culture and education. Zhang Naifu, with the marketing committee of Hainan Airlines, expressed hope that the new air route would further enhance exchanges between people in Chengdu and Vienna.