In July 2024, after a four-year hiatus, the Chinese airline Hainan Airlines resumed flights to Mexico. Now the route is Beijing — Mexico City with a stop in Tijuana is considered one of the main routes to Mexico, especially for those living in the Asian part of Russia. The flight does not require any additional visas (unlike flights to Mexico via Europe), and Hainan Airlines is not as demanding in confirming passengers for entry into Mexico as Turkish Airlines or Emirates.
Hainan Airlines Flight HU7926 — This is a direct flight between Beijing (Capital Airport) and Mexico City (Benito Juarez Airport) with daily flights and an intermediate stop in Tijuana (General Abelardo L. Rodriguez Airport). The route is integrated with other airline flights from Russia — Moscow, Vladivostok, Irkutsk daily — to Beijing. Flights are operated on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
From Beijing to Mexico City (PEK — TIJ — MEX)
Be prepared to have your return ticket checked when landing in Beijing. Some say that the ticket can be to any third country, others — that they were asked for a ticket back to China. We are aware of several cases of denied boarding on Hainan Airlines flights to Mexico, but they are not as widespread as on flights from Istanbul. The airline's website does not provide clear guidance on documents required to enter Mexico, merely stating that it is not responsible if a passenger is denied boarding due to incorrect or incomplete documents. It is recommended to check visa requirements in advance with the consulate or visa operators, taking into account all stages of the trip: departure, stops and final destination.
Beijing — Tijuana (2025)
- Daily
- Departure time: 02:05
- Travel time: 12 hours 35 minutes
- Arrival in Tijuana: 04:15 (local time)
- Technical stop: 2 hours
Tijuana — Mexico City
- Departure time: 06:15
- Travel time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Arrival in Mexico City: 09:55 (next day)
Total travel time including transfers: about 17 hours 50 minutes.
In Tijuana, passengers on a flight from Beijing undergo immigration control to enter Mexico:
- get off the plane into the airport building,
- undergo passport and visa control and obtain entry into Mexico,
- receive luggage,
- go through customs.
Immigration control in Tijuana is no different from that at other airports in Mexico, in Mexico City or Cancun, except that the queues are much shorter. Therefore, it cannot be said that the likelihood of being denied entry into Mexico in Tijuana is higher or lower than at other airports.
Passengers with tickets to Tijuana then enter the airport's general arrivals area.
Passengers with tickets to Mexico City:
- baggage is checked in in a special transit baggage section,
- boarding a flight to Mexico City.
Passengers with tickets from Tijuana to Mexico City board.
From Mexico City to Beijing (MEX — TIJ — PEK)
Mexico City — Tijuana
- Departure time: 02:05
- Travel time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Arrival in Tijuana: 04:20
- Technical stop: 2 hours
Tijuana — Beijing
- Departure time: 06:20
- Travel time: 12 hours 35 minutes
- Arrival Beijing: 09:55 (next day)
In Tijuana, transit passengers do not disembark the plane or go through passport control (they were trained in Mexico City), since the stop is purely technical. Passengers with Tijuana tickets board — Beijing.
Fleet and service classes
- Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
- Capacity: 290 passengers
- Business class: 29 seats
- Economy class: 261 seats
Terminals
- Mexico City: Terminal 1
- Tijuana and Beijing: Terminal 2
Baggage
Carry-on baggage:
- Economy class: 1 piece up to 10 kg,
- Business class: 2 seats up to 10 kg,
- Additionally: 1 personal item (bag, laptop).
Checked baggage:
- Economy class: 1 seat up to 23 kg,
- Business class: 2 seats up to 32 kg.
Tickets can be purchased separately only for the domestic segments of Tijuana — Mexico City and Mexico City — Tijuana — through the official website of Hainan Airlines or online aggregators.
For passengers, Hainan Airlines' flight from Beijing to Mexico City is considered both convenient and unusual: it combines an intercontinental flight with a domestic segment within Mexico. This requires attention to visa and immigration formalities, but in return it offers the rare opportunity to fly directly from East Asia to the heart of Latin America.