Royal Brunei Airlines (RB), the sultanate's national airline, announced on Friday that it plans to resume direct flights connecting Bandar Seri Begawan and Beijing, capital of China, in December this year.

According to a press release from RB, the expansion of service into Beijing will begin twice a week, using the Airbus A320ceo model, and move to thrice a week at the earliest opportunity.

"RB last flew to Beijing two decades ago and we are delighted to be connecting the capital cities once again," Karam Chand, RB's chief executive officer told Xinhua by email.

"As national carrier of Brunei Darussalam, the re-introduction of Beijing flights supports the network development and builds on the strong bilateral trade relationship between the two countries," he added.

RB first commenced scheduled services to China with flights to Beijing in 1993, followed by Shanghai in 2002. Ever since, it has been operating flights between the two countries to develop Brunei's tourism.