An Afriqiyah Airways plane landed in Beijing at 3:08 a.m. Wednesday, marking the launch of the direct flight route between China and Libya. The Libya-based airline started the twice-a-week service to meet the rising travel demand from Chinese business people and laborers seeking to work abroad. The flight time is around 12 hours. Analysts said the launch of the new international route highlighted Afriqiyah Airway's confidence in China's booming air traffic market. Established in April, 2001, the airline operates domestic services between Tripoli and Benghazi and international services to more than 25 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. 