Air China is reportedly studying the launch of a scheduled Beijing-Bucharest service that would become the Chinese carrier’s first direct passenger connection to Romania, according to aviation publication BoardingPass.
The proposed service would operate four times a week between Beijing and Bucharest’s Henri Coandă International Airport in Otopeni, with the flight potentially continuing onward to Zagreb, Croatian aviation outlet Croatian Aviation reported. Under that model, Bucharest would function as an intermediate point on a route linking China with Central and Southeast Europe.
A wider regional ambition
According to the reports, Air China is also seeking the necessary approvals to sell tickets on the Bucharest–Zagreb segment, turning the service into more than a simple point-to-point connection. The planned route is said to be scheduled to begin in August 2026 and to be operated with Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
Interest from Chinese airlines in the Romanian market has been building for months. Industry discussions about Air China’s potential entry have circulated since the start of the year, but there has still been no official confirmation that the Civil Aviation Administration of China has approved the Bucharest operation.
Chinese carriers eye Romania
Air China is not the only Chinese carrier looking at Romania. In the autumn of last year, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Loong Air reportedly secured the authorizations needed for flights to Bucharest, but none has yet launched regular passenger services.
For now, air links between Romania and China remain limited to cargo operations. If the Beijing-Bucharest route goes ahead, it would become only the second regular long-haul passenger service operating from Romania, after HiSky’s flights to New York.
