HAIKOU /China/, December 23. /TASS/. The first regular flight has successfully departed Sanya for Prague using the Seventh Freedom of the Air right at the Hainan Free Trade Port in southern China’s island province, Hainan Ribao reported.

Flight DV481, operated by Kazakhstan’s Scat Airlines, departed Sanya Phoenix International Airport at 8:05 a.m. local time on December 21. The launch of a flight service between Sanya and Prague marked a major step toward enhancing Hainan’s openness in aviation and consolidating its status as a global transportation hub.

The Seventh Freedom of the Air right gives a nation’s airline the possibility to operate passenger and cargo service between two foreign countries without touching its home country. By implementing this policy, Hainan will allow relevant foreign airlines to carry passengers and cargos to third countries and regions via the province.

The air carrier will operate the new weekly service using Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

This route was launched thanks to measures as part of the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port in pursuit of more open transportation policies, including testing the Seventh Freedom of the Air right and providing support to Hainan-based airlines in launching international flights.

The province’s customs regulator introduced a smart passenger control system, and big data analysis for accurate risk management, as it launched special channels of simplified control for certain categories of passengers and began offering consulting services in several languages.