WUHAN - Direct flights between Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, and the Kenyan capital of Nairobi will be launched by China Southern Airlines on Aug 5, the airline company announced on Thursday.

The 12-hour flight linking the city with east Africa will fly every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, according to the airline company.

The outbound flight will depart from Guangzhou at 0:45 am and arrive in Nairobi at 7 am local time the same day. The return flight will depart from Nairobi at 1:35 pm local time and land in Guangzhou at 5:50 am Beijing time the next day.

The new air route will help boost the tourism market in Africa, the company said.