China Eastern Airlines has started flying to South Africa, following the launch of its Shanghai-Maldives-Johannesburg service, Logistics Week reports.

The service uses an Airbus A340-300 with flight MU213 departing Tuesdays and Fridays from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 2355hrs, arriving in the Maldives at 0455hrs the next day. The same flight then departs from the Maldives at 0605hrs and lands in Johannesburg at 1015hrs.

On the return leg, flight MU214 departs Johannesburg at 1405 hrs, touching down in the Maldives at 0050hrs the following day. The flight then takes off from the Maldives at 0200hrs and lands in Shanghai Pudong at 1220hrs (all local time).