GENEVA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- A total of 260,000 passengers have flied directly between Beijing and Geneva via Air China during the past five years, and the successful opening and operation of the Beijing-Geneva flight has become a microcosm of the deepening relations between China and Europe under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Marking the 5th anniversary of the opening of the Beijing-Geneva flight, the Geneva office of Air China said on Monday that it is now launching a "better service" campaign to better fit the needs of the passengers.

Air China is now operating 29 flights to Europe, linking China to 22 cities in 15 European countries.

Every week, it said, the Chinese national flag carrier flies 290 flights to Europe, delivering a total of nearly 3 million passengers per year.

Already the largest flight carrier between China and Europe, Air China opened a number of European flights such as Beijing-Zurich, Shanghai-Barcelona, Beijing- Athens in the year 2017.

In 2018, according to the Geneva Office of Air China, the airlines will open more flights from China to Europe, such as Beijing-Copenhagen and Chengdu-London flights.

According to Geng Wenbing, China's Ambassador to Switzerland, last year more than 1 million Chinese tourists had been in Switzerland, and more are expected to come in the future.

"As the only carrier airline from Geneva to Beijing, Air China successfully facilitated various trade, economic, cultural and art exchange groups and thus helped to promote bilateral cooperation, I expect even more role to play for Air China in this regard in the future," the Chinese ambassador said at Monday's celebration.

Being a global hub for diplomacy and banking, Geneva is home to the UN's European Headquarters and a number of other major international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Air China's Beijing-Geneva flight was officially opened on May 7, 2013.