At 11:20 on April 27, China Eastern Airlines held a Shanghai-Riyadh flight launch conference at Pudong Airport.
At 12:20, flight MU269 "Shanghai-Riyadh" took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, carrying 201 passengers on its maiden flight to Saudi Arabia. Passengers were presented with exquisite maiden flight cakes on the flight. Lucky passengers will be drawn to receive a full-flight in-flight Wi-Fi experience.
After the maiden flight arrived at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh at 19:20 local time, the airport welcomed the maiden flight with a traditional Watergate ceremony. Representatives from the Saudi Air Connectivity Project, Riyadh Airport and the Saudi Tourism Authority held a welcome ceremony at the arrival corridor to celebrate the success of the first flight.
With the successful launch of the Shanghai-Riyadh route and the launch of new routes such as Shanghai-Istanbul and Cairo in 2023, China Eastern Airlines continues to promote the launch and resumption of international routes. During the upcoming "May Day", "Dragon Boat Festival" and "Summer" holidays, these new routes provide new options for passengers to travel by air. As of April this year, China Eastern Airlines' international regional routes have recovered to 91.4% of the 2019 level, and the number of "Belt and Road" routes jointly built has reached 88.