Cheap flights from London to Qingdao

September is the cheapest month to fly this route, and fares stay reasonable through the autumn and into winter. Prices are listed for September through May, so the calendar covers the stretch when most people travel. Chinese New Year is the period to avoid if you can, because travel inside China peaks and seats out of London fill early. UK school holidays push fares up on every carrier, while late autumn and early spring are quieter. Midweek departures usually cost less than Friday or Sunday. Book a few months ahead for the busy windows; for the quiet ones, a few weeks is often enough.

The carriers on this route are full-service network airlines rather than budget operators, so a checked bag and meals usually come with the fare — but check the fare family, because the lightest economy bundles on Air China, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines can leave the bag out. The Chinese carriers here are Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Tianjin Airlines; Austrian, Lufthansa City Airlines, German Airways and Etihad Airways sell connections through Vienna, Munich, Frankfurt and Abu Dhabi. Direct flights exist, and a one-stop itinerary through a Chinese hub often costs less than a nonstop.

London to Qingdao flights land at Qingdao's airport, which sits outside the city centre, so allow time for the transfer rather than planning anything straight after landing. Taxis and airport shuttle buses are the usual ways into town; check whether a rail link reaches the terminal before you count on it. Immigration and customs can take a while on arrivals from Europe, especially when several long-haul flights land together. Keep your onward address written in Chinese characters to show a driver, and have your visa or entry paperwork ready before you reach the desk. If you connect through another Chinese city, check where you clear immigration — it is usually at your first point of entry.

Currency

CNY (¥)

Power sockets

Type A, C, I · 220 V

Language

Putonghua

Emergency number

110, 119, 120

Driving side

right

Calling code

+86

Internet domain

.cn, .中国

Population of Qingdao

10.1 M (2020)

Time zone

UTC+08 (Asia/Shanghai)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Check which London airport your fare leaves from, since Heathrow, Gatwick, City, Luton and Stansted are not interchangeable.
• Confirm whether the ticket is nonstop or one-stop, and whether a connection is on one ticket or two separate bookings.
• Look at the baggage allowance on the lightest economy fare, where a checked bag is often sold separately.
• Check visa and transit rules for China before you pay, including any stopover country on the way.
• Compare September fares with the rest of the calendar before you commit to dates.
• Leave a generous gap between legs if you booked them separately, because a missed connection is then yours to fix.