The first nonstop flight from Guangzhou to Frankfurt in Germany was scheduled to depart Monday night.

The flight, launched by Lufthansa Airlines, would reduce the travel time between the two cities by five hours, the Southern Metropolitan News reported.

Previously, flights between Guangzhou and Frankfurt took at least 17 hours, including a stopover in Shanghai or Beijing.

The nonstop flight, scheduled to depart Guangzhou at 11:30 p.m. Monday, was due to arrive in Frankfurt at about 6:05 a.m. local time the next morning, the report said.

The return flight was scheduled to depart Frankfurt at 10:10 p.m. local time, arriving in Guangzhou at 3:45 p.m. Beijing time the next day.

The flight would be operated by Lufthansa's state-of-the-art Airbus A340-600 aircraft, which featured new business class with the longest flat seat/bed in its class worldwide, the airline company said.

The introduction of the new flight took the number of international flights departing Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to 29, the report said.

More flights to foreign destinations such as Tokyo and Nagoya in Japan would start operating soon, the report said.

The airport is aiming to have 40 international flights departing Guangzhou by the end of this year.

(Shenzhen Daily March 29, 2005)