How the Visa‑Free Regime Boosted Air Links Between Russia and China

Revival of Air Links After the Visa‑Free Regime

Since September 2025, citizens of Russia and China can stay in the partner country for up to a month without a visa. The rule turned out to be a strong catalyst for tourist flows and, consequently, for more flights. According to Aeroflot chief Sergei Alexandrovsky, the volume of traffic between the two nations jumped roughly thirty percent.

What Changed in Aeroflot’s Schedule

• More flights from Moscow – the airline has already doubled the Moscow‑Shanghai frequency, and in June‑July launched extra services from Krasnoyarsk to Shanghai and Guangzhou.
• New destinations – alongside the traditional capital routes (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou), Harbin, Hong Kong and the popular resort town Sanya on Hainan Island have been added.
• Summer schedule – for 2026 Aeroflot offered about twenty routes linking ten Russian cities with six Chinese ones. That lets travelers pick both big metropolises and resort areas.

Numbers That Confirm the Growth

In the first four months of 2026 the carrier moved almost half a million passengers on Russia‑China routes – more than forty percent higher than the same period a year earlier. Seat occupancy stayed around ninety‑one percent, indicating steady demand.

The busiest routes turned out to be:

• Sanya – over one hundred thousand passengers, making it the top resort destination;
• Beijing and Shanghai – each handled about ninety thousand travelers.

How Flight Frequencies Evolved

Aeroflot started raising the number of flights already in autumn 2025. For example, Moscow‑Shanghai went from five to seven flights a week, and similar bumps occurred on the Beijing and Guangzhou legs. Management says further expansion will hinge on demand dynamics.

Outlook for the Visa‑Free Regime

President Putin has suggested turning the temporary visa‑free scheme into a permanent one, pointing to a 43 % rise in tourist flow in the first half of the year. If the proposal is enacted, the air‑traffic growth already shown by Aeroflot could speed up even more.

What This Means for Travelers

• More departure options – you can now pick a flight from a regional airport, not just Moscow.
• Plan flexibility – the visa‑free regime streamlines paperwork and lets you stay up to thirty days, handy for combined tours.
• Resort accessibility – the surge in Sanya flights makes a beach holiday on Hainan realistic even for people living in Siberia.

Bottom line: the visa‑free regime opened new possibilities, and Aeroflot is already exploiting them, expanding its network and adding frequencies. For anyone planning a trip to China, now is the sweet spot – flight choices are broader and prices tend to dip when competition heats up.

Based on materials from: trn-news.ru.