Chinese carrier Tianjin Airlines is to launch a new flight from Gatwick to Xi’an, capital of Shanxi Province – home of the Terracotta Army.
Starting in May 2017, the service will operate on an Airbus A330-200 aircraft with 18 business class and 242 economy class seats.
The total flight time to Xi’an is around 10 hours and the aircraft will then continue onto Tianijn.
The airline, which launched its first ever UK route from Gatwick in June, will also increase its twice-weekly service to three flights a week in summer 2017. It currently departs every Wednesday and Saturday from London Gatwick, arriving into China the following day.
Last month, the UK and China agreed to more than double the number of permitted flights between the two countries.
Under the new deal passenger flights can now increase from the current maximum of 40 per week for each nation to up to 100, helping to boost tourism and trade opportunities for the UK.