A direct air route linking Wuhan and San Francisco resumed on Saturday, according to China Southern Airlines, the flight's operator.

A Boeing 777 aircraft carrying 283 passengers took off from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport at 3:30 p.m. (Beijing Time), marking the resumption of the first direct passenger flight between central China and the United States following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbound flight CZ659 leaves Wuhan at 3:10 p.m. (Beijing Time) every Saturday and arrives in San Francisco at 11:55 a.m. local time.

The return flight CZ660 takes off from San Francisco at 12:55 p.m. local time and arrives in Wuhan at 6:40 p.m. (Beijing Time) the next day, the company said.