The airplane takes off from Yiwu Airport and commences the maiden flight from Yiwu to Macao on Jan 19. [Photo/CFP]

Air Macau, a Macao-based airline company, officially launched its maiden flight from Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province to Macao on the afternoon of Jan 19.

The route has flights scheduled on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday every week, consisting of the Yiwu-Macao flight (service number: NX167), which departs from Yiwu at 6.30 pm and arrives in Macao at 8.35 pm, as well as the Macao-Yiwu flight (service number: NX168), which departs from Macau at 3.20 pm and arrives in Yiwu at 5.30 pm.

Yiwu, a county-level city administered by Jinhua, is home to the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities.

The former Portuguese colony of Macao, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of its return to China in December 2020, has been continuously strengthening its economic and cultural ties with the Chinese mainland.

Previously, a total of three Zhejiang cities, namely Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Wenzhou, had opened direct flights to Macau. The addition of flights in Yiwu will meet the growing demand to travel to Macao of a vast number of people in central Zhejiang.

China has already resumed granting domestic residents tourism visas to Macao, a popular destination for outbound travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A passenger receives the temperature check before boarding the airplane at Yiwu Airport. [Photo/CFP]