Finnair is to resume flying to Shanghai from Helsinki with a new weekly service from Wednesday.

The Airbus A350-operated flight will take off following the green light given by the Chinese authorities for the Nordic carrier to restart flying between the two cities.

Finland has opened its borders for work-related travel from China but entry to Finland is still restricted for the time being pending an EU level decision on reciprocity.

The resumption of weekly flights is part of a phased re-introduction of Finnair services which will see the carrier operating 25 per cent of its previously scheduled flights this summer, as routes and frequencies are gradually added.

The airline will operate 70 per cent of services for the winter season.

Finnair now flies to over 30 destinations in July, operating between 80-90 flights per day, and offers connections to 24 European destinations from Helsinki, including flights to Heathrow.

The carrier will also resume flights between Edinburgh and Helsinki on August 1st, with three flights a week.

A twice-weekly service restarted from Manchester on July 2nd, operating with an Embraer E190.

Ole Orvér, Finnair chief commercial officer, said: “The re-opening of our Shanghai route is great news for our customers and an important step for us, as China continues to play a key role in our strategy.

“We look forward to increasing our service to the Chinese market soonest.”