Air China, the nation's biggest carrier, said Wednesday it will launch the nation's first direct flight between Beijing and Lhasa, the capital city of southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region, beginning July 10 to promote tourism.

The three-hour-fifty-minute flight will be operated by the Airbus A330. Previously, travelers had to transfer through Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province neighboring Tibet.The transfer added two hours to the flight.

CA4122 will leave at 7 a.m. everyday from the Beijing Capital International Airport, and arrive at the Lhasa Gonggar Airport at 10:50 a.m..

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2009)