Kazakhstan-based carrier SCAT Airlines will launch a new weekly flight connecting Prague (PRG) and Sanya (SYX) on China’s tropical Hainan Island from 21 December 2025, the aviation news portal fZone.cz confirmed on 27 October. The Boeing 737 MAX 9 service will route via Bishkek for a brief technical stop, giving Czech travellers a one-stop option to what marketers dub the “Chinese Hawaii”.
Under China’s updated 30-day visa-free scheme for Hainan, Czech passport holders can enter the island without prior paperwork provided they arrive on a direct or connecting international flight and register their stay within 24 hours. Prague Airport management welcomed the route as part of its winter schedule expansion, noting that long-haul leisure capacity remains 12 % below 2019 levels. Tourism boards on both sides expect the new link to entice Chinese visitors to Czech spa towns while offering Czechs an affordable winter-sun alternative to Southeast Asia.
For mobility and relocation teams, the flight opens a new corridor for project staff heading to China’s free-trade-zone technology parks around Sanya and Haikou. Although the visa-free policy simplifies entry, travellers engaged in remunerated activities still require a Z-class work visa; companies should therefore screen assignments carefully to avoid inadvertent breaches of Chinese immigration law. Those transiting through Bishkek will remain air-side and do not need a Kyrgyz visa.
In a broader context the announcement underscores Prague Airport’s strategy of courting non-EU carriers after Russian overflights constrained traditional Asian connections. Recent additions include Etihad’s Abu Dhabi route and Eurowings’ service to Beirut. Analysts at OAG believe SCAT’s Hainan gamble could trigger competitive responses from Hainan Airlines or Smartwings if load factors top 75 % during the first quarter of 2026.
Practical tip: because the return sector departs Sanya at 23:55 local time every Monday, corporate bookers should verify that employees’ Schengen 90/180 limits are reset before re-entry into Prague, especially for non-EU nationals who may have accumulated additional days on earlier trips.
Under China’s updated 30-day visa-free scheme for Hainan, Czech passport holders can enter the island without prior paperwork provided they arrive on a direct or connecting international flight and register their stay within 24 hours. Prague Airport management welcomed the route as part of its winter schedule expansion, noting that long-haul leisure capacity remains 12 % below 2019 levels. Tourism boards on both sides expect the new link to entice Chinese visitors to Czech spa towns while offering Czechs an affordable winter-sun alternative to Southeast Asia.
For mobility and relocation teams, the flight opens a new corridor for project staff heading to China’s free-trade-zone technology parks around Sanya and Haikou. Although the visa-free policy simplifies entry, travellers engaged in remunerated activities still require a Z-class work visa; companies should therefore screen assignments carefully to avoid inadvertent breaches of Chinese immigration law. Those transiting through Bishkek will remain air-side and do not need a Kyrgyz visa.
In a broader context the announcement underscores Prague Airport’s strategy of courting non-EU carriers after Russian overflights constrained traditional Asian connections. Recent additions include Etihad’s Abu Dhabi route and Eurowings’ service to Beirut. Analysts at OAG believe SCAT’s Hainan gamble could trigger competitive responses from Hainan Airlines or Smartwings if load factors top 75 % during the first quarter of 2026.
Practical tip: because the return sector departs Sanya at 23:55 local time every Monday, corporate bookers should verify that employees’ Schengen 90/180 limits are reset before re-entry into Prague, especially for non-EU nationals who may have accumulated additional days on earlier trips.
