First plane from Wuhan comes to Istanbul in 2.5 years

The first passenger plane from the Chinese province of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic that killed more than 6 million worldwide, has landed in Istanbul after a two-and-a-half-year halt due to COVID-19.

China Southern Airlines' airliner with flight number CZ8021 arrived in Istanbul Airport at 9.30 p.m. on June 29.

According to a statement by the Chinese airline company, "flights to Istanbul that were stopped on Jan. 24, 2020, have resumed."

The company will "fly between Türkiye and China once a week for now" and will "increase the flight numbers in the coming future."

The first flight after 41 months was greeted by the official Istanbul Airport management with a tweet.

"We have started the flights between Wuhan and Istanbul as of today. We hope safety flights," it said.

The novel virus was first identified from an outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Jan. 30, 2020, and a pandemic on March 11, 2020. As of June 29, the pandemic had caused more than 545 million cases and 6.33 million confirmed deaths, making it one of the deadliest in history.