Andrew Cowan (right), CEO of Manchester Airport, presents a Manchester United jersey to Zhao Hongliang, president of Juneyao Airlines, after the announcement of a new flightbetween Shanghai and the city in the north of England.

A new flight between Shanghai and Manchester will opened in April next year to cap the rising demand of local travelers for tourism, culture and sports in the northern English city.

Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines will operate three weekly flights for the long-haul route with stops in Helsinki, Finland, using its 324-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner, it announced on Wednesday.

Some 200,000 people travel between Shanghai and the north of England every year. The demand reflects the strong business, academic, culture and sports links between the two places, said Andrew Cowan, Manchester Airport's CEO.

He said the north of England had much to offer to Chinese visitors, such as its football clubs, beautiful countryside and over 40 of the world's top universities.

"The demand gives us the confidence that the new route will become a success and we hope this new connection will strength the links further," Cowan said.

The route will become the third intercontinental flight announced by Juneyao following a daily direct flight between Shanghai and Helsinki opened in June this year as well as between Shanghai and Athens announced early this month.

"We are very pleased to see our first intercontinental route Shanghai-Helsinki receives high recognition which drives us to double efforts in European service expansion,” said Wang Junjin, Juneyao's chairman.

The airline is researching future intercontinental destinations, said Zhao Hongliang, Juneyao's president. It will avoid competing with other carriers on already mature routes but offer new connections between Shanghai and other global cities, he said.

Juneyaooperates over 160 domestic and international flights with 73 Airbus 320s and Boeing 787s. It is a connecting partner with Star Alliance.

In September, Juneyao and China Eastern announceda cross-shareholding partnership to strengthen their positions in Shanghai.