ISTANBUL -- The Sichuan Airlines of China on Tuesday morning completed its inaugural direct flight to Istanbul of Turkey from Chengdu in southwestern China.

The Istanbul Airport performed a watergate ceremony for the flight, the first time for the airport to do so on a foreign flight, after it landed with 279 passengers aboard.

Cui Wei, Chinese consul general in Istanbul, welcomed the flight along with airport officials.

In a press release, the Sichuan Airlines, which is operating more than 220 domestic routes and 56 international and regional routes, pledges efforts to promote trade and tourism between China and Turkey.

Two women from Jiangsu province in eastern China took the inaugural flight with friends in Sichuan, and they intend to stay in Turkey for 20 days.

Turkey has been making efforts, including encouraging more flights to the country, to revive its tourism, an industry which was hit hard over the years mainly by terror attacks and political uncertainty but is now rebounding.