It’s another little sign that the end is somewhere in sight; the imminent resumption of one of the principal air links for Nanjing with the western world. After more than a year, Lufthansa will next month be once again flying into Lukou.
The rumours have been around for a while now. First they said this month, then a few industry insiders started blogging it, but now, Lufthansa themselves have made it official.
谣言已经流传有一段时间了。首先他们是在本月说的，然后一些业内人士开始在博客上发布这一消息，但现在，汉莎航空自己已经正式宣布了这一消息。
The mighty, German-flag carrier shall hit the tarmac at Nanjing Lukou International Airport at 15:00, thereabouts, on 5 September, having left Frankfurt the day before at 20:55.
这家悬挂德国国旗的强大航空公司将于 9 月 5 日 15:00 抵达南京禄口国际机场停机坪，前一天 20:55 离开法兰克福。
The weekly service shall see its return leg operate the following day, departing Lukou on 6 September at 23:20, arriving 07:20 on 7 September, revealed Lufthansa on its official WeChat account.
汉莎航空在其官方微信账号上透露，每周一班的返程航班将于次日运营，于9月6日23:20从禄口出发，于9月7日07:20抵达。
That’s the good news. The bad is that these are long flights. On account of having to avoid Russian airspace, the return leg from Nanjing to Frankfurt in particular will now be a whopping 14 hours long.
这是个好消息。不好的是这些都是长途飞行。由于必须避开俄罗斯领空，从南京到法兰克福的返程时间将长达 14 个小时。
This is in fact the second resumption of service in and out of Nanjing for the airline since the pandemic began. As this publication reported at the time, on 7 July, 2020, Lufthansa returned to our city using a Boeing 747 as equipment to allow for socially-distanced seating. That was until the service ceased at the end of July, 2021.
这实际上是疫情发生以来该航空公司第二次恢复进出南京的航班。正如本刊当时报道的那样，2020 年 7 月 7 日，汉莎航空使用一架波音 747 飞机返回我们的城市，作为允许保持社交距离的座位的设备。直到 2021 年 7 月底该服务停止为止。
Their return to Nanjing’s skies this time around will also see the flag carrier revert to using an Airbus A340 for the flights numbered LH780 and LH781.
此次返回南京上空后，这家旗舰航空公司还将恢复使用空客 A340 执飞编号为 LH780 和 LH781 的航班。
The resumption of service won’t just be a relief for readers of The Nanjinger looking to get home to Germany. For Nanjing will also be one of the few options available for miles-earning travellers flying from Europe to China on any Lufthansa-owned airline.
服务的恢复不仅会让那些想要返回德国的《南京人》读者松一口气。南京也将成为搭乘汉莎航空旗下航空公司从欧洲飞往中国的里程积分旅客的少数选择之一。
Their flight from Frankfurt to Shanghai, LH728, for today, 8 August, has been suspended, as have those on 10 and 17 August.
他们今天（8 月 8 日）从法兰克福飞往上海的 LH728 航班已暂停，8 月 10 日和 17 日的航班也已暂停。
Likewise, Austrian Airlines flight OS075, from Vienna to Shanghai, is suspended until 8 September.
同样，从维也纳飞往上海的奥地利航空 OS075 航班也将暂停运营至 9 月 8 日。
Then there is the Swiss Airlines flight LX188 from Zurich to Shanghai, suspended until 29 October.
还有从苏黎世飞往上海的瑞士航空 LX188 航班，暂停运营至 10 月 29 日。
Lastly, there shall also not be any operation of Lufthansa flight LH730 from Munich to Hong Kong, also until 29 October.
最后，汉莎航空 LH730 航班从慕尼黑飞往香港的航班在 10 月 29 日之前也不会运营。
The upshot, of course, is we can expect that big Airbus incoming to Lukou on 5 September to be pretty full indeed. With so few of its other flights to China operating, that will come as quite a relief for Lufthansa.
当然，结果是我们可以预期 9 月 5 日抵达禄口的大型空客飞机确实相当满员。由于飞往中国的其他航班很少，这对汉莎航空来说将是一个很大的缓解。
