China Eastern announced resumption of Shanghai Pudong–Stockholm direct flights starting June 22, operating three weekly round trips.
This marks the route’s first return since its suspension in 2020 due to the pandemic.
This important air link between China and Northern Europe was first launched in June 2018, becoming the first direct flight between Shanghai and Sweden.
With the route’s resumption, travel time from Shanghai to Sweden will be reduced to about 12 hours. Previously, most flights required connections in European cities such as Paris, with total journey times often approaching 20 hours and, in some cases, exceeding 30 hours.
For China Eastern, this is an important step in expanding its presence in Northern Europe. The Shanghai–Stockholm route is not only China Eastern’s first Northern European service but also the only direct connection from Shanghai to Sweden.
In fact, direct flights between China and Sweden have historically been limited.
In the first half of 2025, there was only one direct route between the two countries, operated by Air China on the Beijing–Stockholm line. During the same period, the route carried 74,400 passengers, a 16.9% year-on-year increase, with a 76.6% average load factor.
In terms of passenger composition, the Beijing route relies more on business and government travel, while Shanghai has a stronger base of tourism and international transfer passengers. Direct flights to the same European destination from both hub cities can attract a more diverse passenger mix and helps improve the overall stability of the route.
On the demand side, recovery has also supported the reopening of Northern European routes. According to the Swedish National Tourist Board, from January to August 2025, overnight stays by Chinese visitors in Sweden increased by more than 51% year on year.
Meanwhile, the travel behavior of Chinese tourists is changing. Li Chunmei, Chief Representative of the Swedish National Tourist Board in China, noted that Chinese travelers visiting Northern Europe previously tended to join multi-country group tours. In recent years, however, the proportion of independent travel has increased significantly, with younger travelers and senior tourists increasingly choosing in-depth trips to countries such as Sweden and Finland.
This shift in travel patterns has, to some extent, driven growing demand for direct flights.
