China’s flag carrier is adding a fresh East Asia to Europe link to the map. From March 2026, Air China will launch new nonstop services connecting Brussels with both Beijing and Chengdu, while also deepening its domestic shuttle between the Chinese capital and the Sichuan metropolis. For business travelers, students, tourists and cargo customers alike, the new routes promise shorter journeys, smoother connections and a broader gateway into both Western Europe and Western China.

Brussels Airport has confirmed that Air China will begin direct flights to the Belgian capital from Beijing Capital International Airport and from Chengdu’s Tianfu International Airport in late March 2026. The move significantly strengthens the airport’s Asia portfolio and positions Brussels as a more prominent European entry point for Chinese travelers.

Flights from Beijing to Brussels are scheduled to commence on 24 March 2026, initially with several weekly services before quickly ramping up to a daily pattern for the summer season at the end of March. The Chengdu to Brussels route will follow just two days later, on 26 March 2026, with three weekly flights planned using widebody aircraft and a block time of just over ten hours.

These additions will make Air China the third Chinese carrier operating passenger services to Brussels, joining Hainan Airlines and Juneyao Air. For passengers in both Belgium and China, the result is a denser network of direct links and more choice of schedules, cabin products and pricing. For Brussels Airport, the arrival of China’s flag carrier is also an important endorsement of its long term ambitions in the Asian market.

Beijing to Brussels: A Daily Capital to Capital Connection

The Beijing Capital to Brussels route is designed as a robust daily artery between two political and economic centers. Air China plans to operate the service with Airbus A330 widebody aircraft, configured to serve both business travelers and leisure passengers. Departures from Beijing are set in the early morning, arriving in Brussels around dawn, while the return flight leaves the Belgian capital around early afternoon, landing back in Beijing the following morning.

This timing is tailored to capture connecting traffic on both ends. In Brussels, the mid day departure to Beijing will line up with inbound short haul flights from across Europe, giving travelers from secondary cities in France, the Netherlands, Germany and the Nordic countries a one stop option to reach the Chinese capital. In Beijing, the early morning arrival enables convenient onward connections across Air China’s extensive domestic and regional network, including to cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xi’an.

The route also deepens the Star Alliance footprint at Brussels Airport. Air China’s membership in the alliance, alongside Brussels Airlines and other European partners, will allow through ticketing, coordinated schedules and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits. Corporate clients that rely on alliance wide contracts can plug the new Beijing link into existing travel programs with minimal friction.

Chengdu to Brussels: A New Gateway to Western China

If Beijing to Brussels is about linking capitals, Chengdu to Brussels is about unlocking a fast growing region. Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province and one of China’s largest urban centers, has long been a strategic hub for technology, manufacturing and logistics. Tianfu International Airport, opened in 2021, was built to serve that growth and to become a major inland gateway for international travel.

The new Chengdu Tianfu to Brussels nonstop flights are expected to operate three times per week, using A330 300 aircraft. Scheduled flight time is around ten hours and twenty minutes, trimming hours off itineraries that previously required connections in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai or Doha. For travelers in Belgium and neighboring countries, it means a one stop path into southwestern China that bypasses the crowded coastal gateways.

Chengdu is also a major tourism draw. Known for its panda research base, hot pot cuisine and relaxed teahouse culture, the city offers a completely different flavor of China compared with the political formality of Beijing or the financial buzz of Shanghai. With direct flights from Brussels, tour operators in Belgium and nearby markets can craft itineraries that combine Chengdu with nearby destinations such as Leshan, Emei Mountain and Jiuzhaigou, appealing to travelers who have already visited China’s more traditional first timer highlights.

Beijing and Chengdu: A Powerful Domestic Spine

Behind the new Europe bound routes lies a strong domestic backbone. Beijing and Chengdu are already linked by one of China’s busiest internal air corridors, with multiple airlines operating frequent nonstop flights each day between Beijing Capital and Chengdu Tianfu. For Air China, this corridor is a crucial piece of its hub and spoke model, feeding long haul services on both ends.

Travelers from Brussels who land in either Beijing or Chengdu will be able to use Air China’s domestic network to connect seamlessly to other Chinese cities. A passenger traveling from Brussels to Kunming, for instance, might now choose a single connection via Chengdu, rather than threading through airports farther east. Similarly, those heading to Xi’an, Lhasa or Urumqi can weigh whether a connection via Beijing or Chengdu best fits their schedule.

This domestic connectivity will be especially significant for Belgian businesses with operations spread across multiple Chinese provinces. Rather than flying into Beijing or Shanghai and then backtracking, executives and technicians can route directly into western or southwestern China, cutting surface travel time and improving trip efficiency. Students heading to universities in the interior provinces will also gain more straightforward journeys and better choice of departure times.

Economic, Political and Cultural Implications for Belgium

For Belgium, the arrival of Air China carries economic, political and cultural resonance. Brussels is not only the national capital but also home to European Union institutions and numerous multinational headquarters. Direct flights from Beijing and Chengdu give Chinese delegations, investors and tourists a more convenient way to access these centers of decision making and commerce.

Additional belly cargo capacity on the A330 aircraft will also benefit trade. High value, time sensitive goods such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, precision instruments and perishable food items can flow more smoothly between Belgium and China. Exporters in Belgium’s logistics clusters see the opportunity to shorten supply chains into western China, while Chinese manufacturers and e commerce players gain another trunk route to move goods into European markets.

On a softer level, the flights reinforce cultural exchange. Chinese tourists visiting Brussels can combine the city’s historic Grand Place, comic art culture and culinary scene with quick rail trips to Bruges, Ghent or Antwerp. Conversely, Belgian visitors flying into Chengdu can explore Sichuan opera, teahouse traditions and spicy cuisine, all within a few hours of landing. The new routes make it easier for universities, arts institutions and cultural organizations to organize exchanges, festivals and joint projects.

Strategic Context: A Competitive China Belgium Market

Air China’s expansion does not happen in isolation. Brussels has been steadily rebuilding and diversifying its connections to China, particularly as pandemic era travel restrictions have eased and China has introduced more liberal visa policies for short term visitors from several European countries. Hainan Airlines has established itself as a key player at Brussels Airport, with services to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and, more recently, Chongqing.

By opening daily Beijing flights and a new Chengdu link, Air China is positioning itself as a direct competitor to Hainan on several city pairs and as a complementary partner on others. This competition is likely to benefit passengers through improved schedules and potentially keener fares, especially during the initial ramp up period as the new services seek to build market share.

The broader network picture across Europe also matters. Air China already serves major hubs such as Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, London and Vienna. Brussels adds another spoke in that European wheel, but one with a particularly high concentration of institutional traffic. For travelers within the Star Alliance ecosystem, the possibility of mixing and matching routes, such as flying out of Frankfurt and back via Brussels, can add welcome flexibility.

What Travelers Can Expect On Board

Although final cabin configurations and service details may still evolve before March 2026, Air China’s A330 family typically offers a two class layout on many European routes, with a lie flat or angled lie flat business cabin and a standard economy cabin. For the Brussels services, travelers can expect a full long haul product, including in flight entertainment, hot meal service and checked baggage allowances aligned with intercontinental standards.

The flight timings open up attractive options for both eastbound and westbound travelers. Westbound passengers departing Beijing or Chengdu in the small hours of the morning will arrive in Brussels early in the day, with time to clear immigration, transfer to trains or catch short haul flights onward to other European cities. Eastbound travelers leaving Brussels around midday or early afternoon will arrive in Beijing or Chengdu the following morning, giving them a full day ahead for meetings or onward travel.

For frequent flyers, the integration with Star Alliance means that miles earned on the new Brussels routes can be credited to partner programs, including Brussels Airlines’ loyalty scheme and those of other European and North American carriers. Status benefits such as lounge access, priority boarding and additional baggage will help smooth the experience, particularly for business travelers making regular trips between Europe and China.

Planning Ahead for March 2026 and Beyond

With the launch still more than a year away, many details, including promotional fares and exact seasonal schedules, will continue to firm up in the months ahead. Travelers interested in taking advantage of the new links should monitor booking platforms and airline announcements as summer 2026 inventory becomes more widely available. Early adopters may find attractive introductory pricing as the airline works to stimulate demand on the Brussels routes.

Corporate travel planners will want to integrate the new flights into their policy frameworks and booking tools. For organizations with teams shuttling between Europe and the Chinese interior, routing via Chengdu may offer time savings and better alignment with local working hours. For those with operations spread across China’s coastal and inland cities, the combination of Beijing and Chengdu flights yields a more balanced portfolio of entry points.

For leisure travelers, the new services present an opportunity to reconsider how a trip to China is structured. It will become easier to design open jaw itineraries, flying Brussels to Chengdu and returning from Beijing, or vice versa, using domestic flights or high speed rail in between. This can help visitors experience both the cultural depth of Sichuan and the historic and political landmarks of the capital without backtracking.

As March 2026 approaches, Air China’s new nonstop services between Beijing, Chengdu and Brussels will add another chapter to the evolving story of Europe China air links. By joining political hubs, industrial heartlands and cultural capitals in a tighter web, the routes promise not only to shorten flight times but also to deepen the ties that stretch between Western Europe and Western China.