During UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to China last week, Beijing agreed to ease relevant rules, allowing UK citizens to enter China visa-free for stays of up to 30 days.
By the end of 2025, China had already extended its unilateral visa-free policy for countries including France through the end of 2026.
At the time, the UK had not yet been included in China’s “visa-free circle,” and the Chinese embassy and consulates in the UK had continued to process five- or ten-year multiple-entry visas for eligible British citizens traveling for business, tourism, or family visits.
In fact, the recovery of air routes and passenger flows predates the visa waiver announcement and has long been one of the most direct indicators of improving bilateral ties.
Between January 19 and March 23, 2026, China Southern Airlines increased the frequency of its direct Guangzhou–London service from one daily flight to eight flights per week, operating the route with Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
From the supply side, China–UK passenger routes have now entered a relatively steady phase of recovery.
Data show that in the first three quarters of 2025, nearly 12,000 direct flights operated between China and the UK, with round-trip passenger traffic rising 4.0% year on year. Across 23 direct routes linking Chinese cities with the UK, total passenger volume reached 3.0286 million.
Load factors on major hub routes have stabilized at around 86%, while secondary hub routes recorded an average load factor of 70.3%.
The recovery in air capacity has quickly translated into momentum in the tourism market. VisitBritain forecasts that Chinese arrivals to the UK will reach 667,000 in 2026, representing a 28% increase from the estimated level in 2025, and are expected to generate approximately £1.3 billion (about RMB 12.17 billion) in tourism revenue for the UK economy.
