Gatwick Airport is to receive its first Chinese services with flights to Chongqing then onto Tianjin, served by Tianjin Airlines.

Tianjin Airlines will use an Airbus A330 on the twice weekly service departing Gatwick at 22.25h on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 25 June. The Gatwick-Chongqing-Tianjin service will be Tianjin Airlines’ first long-haul flight out of Asia and the first time either Chinese city have been connected to the UK.

Gatwick Airport chief commercial officer, Guy Stephenson says: “By flying into two of China’s most important economic centres, Gatwick is providing vital direct connections for UK business people into some of the most exciting growth markets on the planet.”

Chongqing, in South West China, has been investing heavily in large infrastructure projects including the Three Gorges Dam, and has seen the arrival of numerous foreign investors in industries including car manufacturing, finance and retailing. Tianjin, in North East China, near Beijing, has been designated a Special Economic Zone, with special economic reforms helping make it a hub of advanced industry and financial activity.