A China Southern Airlines plane took off from Shenzhen International Airport bound for Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Monday as the airline resumed the route after a long hiatus.

The round-trip between Shenzhen and Amsterdam will operate twice a week — on Mondays and Wednesdays — according to a statement from China Southern on Tuesday.

The aircraft, an Airbus A330, took off at 1:50 am and was expected to land in Amsterdam at 8 am local time. The return flight from Amsterdam was scheduled to arrive in the Shenzhen special economic zone at about 9 am the next day.

It is the first international route China Southern opened after the country adjusted its policies concerning COVID-19. It is also the airline's first direct international flight linking Shenzhen with the Netherlands.

As of the end of December, the airline had resumed four other international routes from Shenzhen, including flights to Jakarta, Moscow, Dubai and Singapore. The Amsterdam direct flight makes it five.

China Southern's Shenzhen branch said it is planning to gradually restart routes from Shenzhen to the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and other major cities around the world this year.

The company also plans to increase the number of flights to Indonesia and continue to strengthen connectivity with international cities that are closely related to Shenzhen's industries and develop smooth air channels to support Shenzhen's high-level opening-up, it said.