JINAN — The first direct flight from Jinan, East China’s Shandong province, to Moscow, Russia departed on Dec 8.

It is the second international route for Jinan, following a direct flight to Los Angeles.

Russia’s iFly Airlines operates the route using Airbus A330-300 widebody aircraft. With the capacity of 370 passengers, the flight leaves Jinan at 12:30 pm every Friday, and arrives in Moscow at 4:30 pm local time. The return flight departs from Moscow at 10:30 pm and lands in Jinan at 10:30 am the next day.

Flight duration is around 8 to 9 hours.

The service will be extended to twice weekly from March 27, 2018, according to the airport.

The flight is expected to boost economic and cultural exchanges, and tourism between the two cities, the airport said.