LHASA, Feb. 20 -- The first commercial flight linking southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region started operation Wednesday morning.

The flight, operated by Tibet Airlines and using an Airbus A319, runs twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays. It departs Lhasa at 8:10 a.m., stops over in Chengdu City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, and arrives in Hong Kong at 2:35 p.m.

The new route supports Xizang's openness, boosts its cultural and tourism industries, and strengthens ties with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, according to the regional administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Previously, Xizang had two international routes: one from Lhasa to Kathmandu, Nepal, and another from Lhasa via southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Singapore.