British Airways will open a direct flight from London to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, on Sept 22 next year.

Using Boeing 777-200 aircrafts, British Airways will offer three round-trip flights every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday departing from London, according to Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways’ owner International Airlines Group, at a news conference held in Chengdu.

Chengdu will become the fourth city in China operating British Airways flights, after Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. The new route will save six to eight hours for passengers travelling between Chengdu and London, said Walsh.

Located in southwest China, Chengdu is geographically closer to the Middle East and Europe compared to cities in East China, said Chen Zhongwei, director of the city’s logistics office.

Chengdu has made an ambitious plan to build itself into an international aviation hub by increasing international direct routes to 30, from its current 18, by 2015, carrying 50 million passengers annually, according to Chen.