WUHAN/BEIJING — Central China's Wuhan, a city once hit hard by COVID-19 epidemic, on June 9 saw the take-off of its first passenger flight bound for Beijing after outbound traffic restrictions on the city were lifted.

Flight CZ3139, operated by China Southern Airlines, departed Wuhan at 3:55 pm and landed at Beijing Daxing International Airport at 5:28 pm. This marked the resumption of passenger air route between Beijing and Wuhan.

The airline company's Hubei branch said that besides 34 passengers, the flight also carried two metric tons of cargo produced in Hubei province.

Beijing further lowered its emergency response to COVID-19 on June 6.