Tianjin Airlines has resumed its long-haul Airbus A330 service linking Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport with Moscow Vnukovo after a two-year suspension, restoring a direct channel between western China’s largest municipality and the Russian capital. The weekly flight departs Chongqing every Tuesday at 10:55 BJT and lands in Moscow at 14:55 MSK, returning the same day. The airline plans to add a second weekly frequency from March 2026.
The reinstated route complements the carrier’s Beijing-Moscow services and reflects strengthening trade ties: Chongqing’s exports to Russia grew 28 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025, driven by auto parts and electronics. For multinationals with operations in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, the nonstop flight trims travel time by three to five hours compared with connecting via Beijing or Urumqi and eliminates domestic transfer formalities.
![Tianjin Airlines restarts nonstop Chongqing–Moscow route to boost Sino-Russian connectivity]()
Moscow sees the service as vital for reviving inbound Chinese tourism, which has lagged behind pre-pandemic levels. Russian tour operators are bundling the new flight with Yangtze River cruise packages, and Chongqing’s municipal government is offering up to RMB 50,000 (USD 6,900) in marketing subsidies per charter to stimulate demand.
Cargo holds on the A330 will initially carry 10 tonnes of high-value e-commerce parcels each week, and airport officials say they can scale capacity rapidly if West-bound Belt-and-Road exports rebound next spring. Mobility managers should note that Russian visas for Chinese nationals remain paper-based and can take seven to ten working days; early application is recommended to take advantage of promotional fares.
With Aeroflot eyeing capacity increases on Moscow–Shanghai and China Eastern requesting slots for Xi’an–Moscow, analysts expect China-Russia seat capacity to reach 85 percent of 2019 levels by mid-2026, restoring an important Eurasian corridor for business travelers and expatriate rotations.
The reinstated route complements the carrier’s Beijing-Moscow services and reflects strengthening trade ties: Chongqing’s exports to Russia grew 28 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025, driven by auto parts and electronics. For multinationals with operations in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, the nonstop flight trims travel time by three to five hours compared with connecting via Beijing or Urumqi and eliminates domestic transfer formalities.
Moscow sees the service as vital for reviving inbound Chinese tourism, which has lagged behind pre-pandemic levels. Russian tour operators are bundling the new flight with Yangtze River cruise packages, and Chongqing’s municipal government is offering up to RMB 50,000 (USD 6,900) in marketing subsidies per charter to stimulate demand.
Cargo holds on the A330 will initially carry 10 tonnes of high-value e-commerce parcels each week, and airport officials say they can scale capacity rapidly if West-bound Belt-and-Road exports rebound next spring. Mobility managers should note that Russian visas for Chinese nationals remain paper-based and can take seven to ten working days; early application is recommended to take advantage of promotional fares.
With Aeroflot eyeing capacity increases on Moscow–Shanghai and China Eastern requesting slots for Xi’an–Moscow, analysts expect China-Russia seat capacity to reach 85 percent of 2019 levels by mid-2026, restoring an important Eurasian corridor for business travelers and expatriate rotations.
