CCTV news: On December 22, flight DV482 of the "Prague to Sanya" route operated by Kazakhstan's SKAKA arrived at Sanya Phoenix International Airport smoothly. 115 passengers from the Czech Republic entered the country smoothly. This was also the first batch of passengers welcomed by the Hainan Free Trade Port's first seventh-freedom passenger route.

That afternoon, flight DV482 landed smoothly at Sanya Phoenix International Airport. After landing, it was greeted by the "Water Gate" symbolizing the highest civil aviation etiquette.

So far, Sanya has opened a total of 41 overseas routes, reaching 32 overseas destinations. The route network covers many key areas in Asia and Europe. It will continue to promote the layout of fifth and seventh freedom routes, continue to weave a dense international route network, and connect the world with a more inclusive and open attitude.

News link: What is "Seventh Freedom"?

Seventh freedom rights, also known as complete third-country transportation rights, are the rights of airlines in a certain country or region to operate independent routes completely outside their own country or region, and to carry passengers and cargo between two countries or regions overseas.

In 2020, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued the "Implementation Plan for the Pilot Opening of Seventh Freedom for Hainan Free Trade Port" to encourage and support foreign airlines to operate passenger and cargo seventh freedom rights in Hainan in addition to the existing traffic rights arrangements. The "Sanya to Prague" route put into operation this time is the first seventh freedom route put into operation by Hainan Free Trade Port.

Expert Interpretation: The seventh freedom rights enhance air connectivity between the free trade port and the world

Industry experts believe that the breakthrough in traffic rights will attract more international airlines to deploy transportation resources in Hainan, enhance Hainan’s node capabilities in the global route network, and enhance air accessibility and convenience between the free trade port and the world.

Seventh freedom rights are not common in business practice in the international aviation market. The reason is that the signatory country is equivalent to opening its international routes to foreign airlines for operation, which can easily cause excessive competitive pressure on the same routes operated by domestic airlines.

Industry insiders believe that the breakthrough in traffic rights is expected to attract more overseas airlines to use the seventh freedom rights to fly new routes and deploy new transport capacity, thereby enhancing Hainan's node capabilities in the global route network and improving Hainan's efficient connection and delivery capabilities for passengers and freight around the world.