en.Wedoany.com Reported - Air China plans to launch flights to Iceland from Beijing later this year, becoming the first Chinese carrier to operate the route.

Starting October 26, Air China will operate flights between Beijing Capital International Airport and Keflavík International Airport in Reykjavik. The route will run three times a week with a stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, using Airbus A330-300 aircraft. As a Star Alliance member, Air China currently operates direct flights between Beijing and Copenhagen with A350-900 aircraft, up to 11 times a week, and the new route will complement this service.

According to OAG flight schedule data, during the 2026-27 winter season, Air China will continue to offer daily direct Beijing-Copenhagen flights with A350-900 aircraft, while adding the new three-times-weekly Beijing-Copenhagen-Reykjavik route.

The Chinese Embassy in Iceland described the route as a "game changer for travel between China and Iceland, and between Asia and Europe." The Iceland route has remained vacant since six years ago, when Juneyao Air was forced to cancel plans to launch a Shanghai-Helsinki-Reykjavik route due to the pandemic.

Currently, travelers between mainland China and Iceland rely entirely on connecting itineraries. Sabre market intelligence data shows that passenger traffic between the two destinations in 2025 was approximately 27,000, up nearly 8% year-on-year. Helsinki handled about one-third of the transit volume, followed by Frankfurt, London, Vienna, and Copenhagen.

Although the market size is small, it benefits from recovering leisure demand and growing interest in Nordic travel. The new route also provides Icelandic passengers with convenient access to Air China's domestic and regional network via Beijing.

The Reykjavik route is part of Air China's expansion of its European network. OAG data analysis shows that in summer 2026, the carrier plans to offer approximately 4.5 million seats on China-Europe routes, an increase of nearly 22.6% compared to summer 2025.

In summer 2026, Air China has launched new routes from Beijing Capital and Chengdu to Brussels, added routes from Beijing Daxing to Frankfurt and Milan Malpensa, launched Beijing-Venice flights, and plans to operate flights to Bucharest, Romania, and Zagreb, Croatia, with stopover services starting in September.

Chinese carriers are expanding on China-Europe routes significantly faster than their European counterparts, as Air China can continue to use Russian airspace, while European airlines have been forced to take detours since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in February 2022.