Xiamen Airlines opened a new hangar at its base in Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian on Dec 20 in the lead up to a maiden flight of its direct service between Fuzhou and New York in February.

The 15,000 square meter hangar has enough space to accommodate one Boeing 787 and two Boeing 737s at the same time. It could be a safe house for five Boeing 737s in a typhoon.

Xiamen Airlines' new hangar at Fuzhou base starts operations on Dec 20. [Photo by Lin Shanchuan/Xinhua]

As a SkyTeam member, Xiamen Airlines, based in Xiamen, Fujian, operates domestic, regional and intercontinental air services. This capacious new hangar will help it provide reliable flights for passengers travelling between Fujian and the east coast of the US.

The direct route to New York's John Kennedy International Airport was announced as part of the Fuzhou International Airport's 2016/17 winter spring program, in place as of Oct 30.

The route is the most anticipated among the 16 routes in the airport's new program. It will be flown three times a week, leaving Fuzhou on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and returning the next day.

A one-way trip is estimated to be 14 hours and 40 minutes by Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The planes will leave Fuzhou at 9:15 am and reach New York at 10:55 am the next day; the return flights will depart New York at 0:55 pm and arrive in Fuzhou at 5:00 pm the next day. (times are local winter times).

A Boeing 787-9 docks inside Xiamen Airlines' new hangar at Fuzhou base, which became available on Dec 20. [Photo by Lin Shanchuan/Xinhua]