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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Their flight from Frankfurt to Shanghai, LH728, for today, 8 August, has been suspended, as have those on 10 and 17 August.
Likewise, Austrian Airlines flight OS075, from Vienna to Shanghai, is suspended until 8 September.
Then there is the Swiss Airlines flight LX188 from Zurich to Shanghai, suspended until 29 October.
Lastly, there shall also not be any operation of Lufthansa flight LH730 from Munich to Hong Kong, also until 29 October.
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.
