The United Kingdom's London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has become the first European air hub to regain a direct, non-stop service to Wuhan, China, since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The first flight touched down in the British capital earlier this morning, operated by an Airbus A350 from China Southern.

Back in town

The flight in question was effectively an overnight affair despite leaving Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) and arriving at London Heathrow on the same calendar date. FlightRadar24.com shows that it departed at 04:06 local time this morning, slightly behind schedule compared to its planned 03:55 departure time.

However, despite this minor delay, the service, which was numbered as China Southern Airlines flight CZ607, made up good time along the way. This was aided by taking a direct route through the Russian airspace that many carriers are choosing to avoid due to the country's ongoing military action in neighboring Ukraine.

Image: FlightRadar24.com

After a grand total of 11 hours and 13 minutes in the air, the flight eventually touched down on London Heathrow Airport's runway 27L at 08:18 local time. With only a relatively short taxi to the airport's Terminal 4 required for the service to complete its journey, it will have arrived on stand well ahead of its planned 08:50 arrival.

One flight a week for now

The arrival of China Southern Airlines flight CZ607 at London Heathrow Airport this morning marked a significant milestone in the recovery of Chinese commercial air travel, particularly in the long-haul sector. Indeed, as ECNS reports, this flight was the first scheduled service between Wuhan and any European airport since COVID.

For the time being, the flights will operate on a weekly basis. The return leg is scheduled to leave London Heathrow Airport at 12:55 local time today, with its planned arrival back into Wuhan being at 06:40 tomorrow morning. Next week, the outbound flight will operate earlier, leaving Wuhan at 02:15, and arriving in London at 07:10. However, the timings for the return leg will remain the same.

Photo: Airbus

There may well be scope for the flights to increase in frequency as Chinese commercial aviation's recovery continues. After all, at the time that China Southern Airlines launched its first flights between Wuhan and London in May 2018, three rotations were scheduled per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

What's it like onboard?

Back then, the Guzngzhou-headquartered carrier chose to deploy the Airbus A330-200 on its route between Wuhan and London Heathrow Airport. However, this time around, it has opted instead for the next-generation A350-900.

The aircraft that operated China Southern Airlines' first post-COVID Wuhan-London rotation bore the registration B-30AL, and data from ch-aviation.com shows that this particular example has a three-class configuration. Seating a grand total of 314 passengers, this layout has space for 262 guests in economy class (nine abreast), 24 in premium economy (eight abreast), and 28 in business class (four abreast).

Sources: China Southern Airlines, ch-aviation.com, ECNS, FlightRadar24.com