China Southern Airlines has launched direct flights between Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) and Helsinki, marking the airport's first direct route to Northern Europe, as Chinese airlines continue to expand their European networks.

The airline will begin flying between Daxing and the Finnish capital, according to PKX, with a start date of March 29. The new route would give Daxing its first direct connection to the Nordics and comes as Chinese airlines accelerate growth in Europe-bound flights, while many European carriers are still constrained by longer routes around closed Russian airspace. In addition to Russia, China Southern already operates 20 routes to Europe, including flights to Amsterdam, Budapest, Frankfurt, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Paris and Madrid.

For Helsinki, Beijing would become the third Chinese city to be served directly. In addition to Finnair's two weekly flights to Shanghai, Juneyao Airlines operates four flights per week between Shanghai and Helsinki and one weekly service from Zhengzhou, according to OAG Schedules Analyser.