China Southern Airlines is adding a fifth route to London during the 2024 summer season, boosting its capacity to the UK capital to record levels.

The carrier intends to open a route between Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) and London Gatwick Airport (LGW) from June 20, complementing its existing daily service from the Chinese city to London Heathrow Airport (LHR).

The airline’s booking system shows that flights will start on June 20 with three services per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays using Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Flights will be about 12 hr. 30 min. westbound and 11 hr. 40 min. on the eastbound leg.

China Southern began flying to LGW in December with a route from Zhengzhou, the capital of east-central China’s Henan province. The move increased the airline’s London network to four nonstop routes alongside flights to LHR from Beijing Daxing, Guangzhou and Wuhan.

The addition of a second route from its Guangzhou hub will expand the carrier’s schedule to almost 12,500 two-way weekly seats between London and mainland China across 21 roundtrips. This compares with two-way capacity of about 7,800 seats before the pandemic.

China Southern’s arrival at LGW in December means that the UK airport is now served by China’s three largest airlines, with Air China and China Eastern Airlines each offering daily flights from Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Overall, nine carriers currently serve the London-China market, collectively offering some 52,600 two-way seats. This marks a rise of about 15% on pre-pandemic levels. China Southern’s planned CAN-LGW service was first reported by AeroRoutes.