A new air route connecting Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, with Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officially opened on Saturday, according to China Southern Airlines.

Operated with Airbus A330-300 aircraft, the flight departs from Shenyang Taoxian International Airport every Saturday at 8:10 a.m. Beijing Time and arrives in Dubai at 7:20 p.m. local time.

The return flight departs from Dubai at 9:20 p.m. local time on Saturday and arrives in Shenyang at 1:45 p.m. Beijing Time on Sunday, according to the Northern Branch of China Southern Airlines Co., Ltd.

Each of the outbound and inbound flights includes a stopover in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province.

Wang Xiaohui, deputy general manager of the branch, said that 80 percent of tickets for the inaugural flight were sold to passengers traveling for business, study, work, family visits and tourism, among other purposes.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the UAE, and the two countries have adopted visa-free policies for each other's citizens.

Liaoning has established cooperation with the Middle East in areas such as commodity trade, oil and gas, and science and technology.