SHENYANG, June 29 (Xinhua) -- A direct flight between Shenyang, capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province, and the city of Irkutsk in Russia, one of the country's most popular tourist destinations, was launched on Thursday, according to China Southern Airlines northern branch, the carrier of the flight.

The outbound flight will depart from Shenyang on every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 4:25 p.m., and arrive at Irkutsk about three hours later at 8 p.m. local time. The returning flight will depart from Irkutsk at 9:30 p.m. local time, and arrive Shenyang at 0:30 a.m. the next morning.

Staff with the company said that the number of tourists travelling to Russia has risen because of the World Cup. During the upcoming summer holiday, the airline plans to increase the frequency of the Russia-bound flights.