A new Belgian airline aims to begin offering direct flights from three Chinese cities to Belgium next summer, Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir reported on Wednesday.

Air Belgium is being launched by Niky Terzakis, the former manager of now-defunct Belgian airline TNT Airways, the newspaper reported.

The new company has about 10 staff working on the launch from premises in Louvain-la-Neuve, southern Belgium, and hopes to buy and renovate four aircraft for a launch in June 2017.

Terzakis told Le Soir: "It will be a regular passenger airline with low fares."

Air Belgium will provide three or four direct weekly flights between Belgium and China, Le Soir added. Three possible airports are being considered for the Belgian base: Brussels, Charleroi or Liege.

It is not yet clear which destinations in China will be served, the newspaper added, although Air Belgium is reported to be interested in serving "secondary" Chinese cities other than the major metropolitan travel hubs. 

Source : XINHUA