ATHENS -- Air China launched a new direct flight between China's largest city Shanghai and Greece's Capital Athens on Thursday at Athens International Airport (AIA), the first direct flight between the two cities.

Passengers were welcomed by Air China and AIA officials with balloons, desserts and a mascot during an event at the check-in area.

It is one of two direct flights operated by Air China each week, linking Greece to China.

The Athens-Beijing direct air link, inaugurated in 2017, was suspended in the winter of 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed this summer.

Ioanna Papadopoulou, AIA's director of communications and marketing, told Xinhua that the launch of Air China's operations between Shanghai and Athens was "one of the most important developments for AIA, for the city and the country."

The Chinese market was very important to AIA just before the pandemic, as it was one of the fastest developing markets, she said.

"We hope and wish that in 2023 this is going to be one of our most successful operations. We missed China and we missed Chinese travelers a lot," she added.