China Southern Airlines opened a new direct flight between Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A China Southern Airlines plane with 213 passengers aboard took off from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and headed for Budapest, Hungary, at 1:02 am on Thursday after a launching ceremony for the new route on Wednesday night.

The flight, CZ649, is expected to land at Budapest's Ferenc Liszt International Airport after 12 hours and 25 minutes in the air.

Han Wensheng, president of China Southern Air Holding Co, said the route is the first direct flight to link the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with Hungary and will strengthen ties between China and the European nation.

The flight will operate four times a week — on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, using a Boeing 787-9 model, Han said at the ceremony which was attended Lin Tao, vice-governor of Guangdong province, and Peter Varfi, head of the Hungarian consulate in Guangzhou.

Return flights will depart from Budapest at 1 pm local time and fly about 10 hours and 55 minutes to arrive in Guangzhou at 5:55 am the next day.

Ji Ye, the flight captain, said he was proud to pilot the inaugural flight to Budapest and to witness a historic moment in the history of China-Hungary relations.

Han, the airline president, said the flight's arrival times at Budapest and Guangzhou will meet the needs of passengers for transit via Budapest to other cities in Europe and via Guangzhou to other Chinese cities and destinations in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

He said the new air route will effectively promote economic and trade cooperation, as well as cultural, tourism and people-to-people exchanges between China and Europe.

With the launch of the new Guangzhou-Budapest air route, China Southern is opening 53 international routes starting from Guangzhou, including 11 to Europe. China Southern's international flights from China to Europe will be increased to 19.

The new route marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary.