Captain of China's Hainan Airlines' HU438 prepares in the cockpit at Rome's Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci airport, Italy, May 30, 2019. A new direct air route linking Italian capital Rome with the Chinese tech-hub Shenzhen was inaugurated Thursday in Rome's Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci airport. The new direct route, operated by China's Hainan Airlines with a Boeing 787-Dreamliner twice a week on each Thursday and Sunday, will add to the company's already existing direct links from Rome to the Chinese cities of Chongqing and Xi'an. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)

ROME, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A new direct air route linking Italian capital Rome with the Chinese tech-hub Shenzhen was inaugurated Thursday in Rome's Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci airport.

The new direct route, operated by China's Hainan Airlines with a Boeing 787-Dreamliner twice a week on each Thursday and Sunday, will add to the company's already existing direct links from Rome to the Chinese cities of Chongqing and Xi'an.

Attending the inaugural ceremony, Hainan Airlines Shenzhen Branch General Manager Wang Yequan said that European and Chinese business passengers will be granted with a high standard of comfort, adding that Italian passengers will be able to reach other Chinese destinations, while Chinese passengers will be able to discover another "path" to reach other European cities.

"We strongly believe in the potential of this new link operated by Hainan Airlines, which expands the already wide network of Chinese destinations linked with Rome," said Federico Scriboni, Head of Airline Traffic Development of Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), the company that runs the airport.

Shenzhen, coast city of Guangdong province in southern China, is a gateway to fashion and technology, and one of the most developed and modernized cities in China, according to ADR.

"I think (the new air route to Shenzhen) was necessary, because China-Italy trips are increasing day by day due to business reasons," said Pasquale Caiazzo, an entrepreneur who often travels to China and was embarking on the new flight.

Caiazzo also added that, always due to business reasons, a new direct route from Rome to Wenzhou, in China's Zhejiang province, will be ideal.

Wenzhou is a costal city known for its vibrant business and entrepreneurship environment in China.

With the opening of the new link with Rome, the Chinese tech-hub will have over 650 international flights to 29 Asian cities and 21 in other continents every week.