WUHAN, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Wearing a mask and gloves, captain Mao Lin finally returned to his familiar cockpit after 76 days of grounding.

Looking at the dashboard and joystick, he felt a surge of emotion and began his long-prepared broadcast.

"Dear passengers, this is your captain speaking. I am very honored to accompany you from Wuhan to our long-lost dream and destination."

His flight was the first passenger plane taking off from Wuhan at 7:22 a.m. Wednesday since the city closed itself on Jan 23.

After being put into lockdown for almost 11 weeks, Wuhan, the former epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, is finally reconnected with the rest of the world.

Bans on outbound traffic were officially lifted in the city at midnight Tuesday, ending the long-lasting sacrifice -- the strictest ever measures to curb an epidemic in modern human history.

"I'm very happy to see the lockdown lifted. The reopening of outbound traffic shows the epidemic situation has improved, and our hard work over the past two months has paid off," said Fang Jing, a staff member of an expressway toll station in Wuhan.

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is expected to see more than 220 inbound and outbound flights on Wednesday, according to the airport.

More than 55,000 passengers are expected to take trains to leave Wuhan on Wednesday, with about 40 percent heading for the Pearl River Delta region. A total of 276 passenger trains will leave Wuhan for economic hubs like Shanghai, Shenzhen and other cities.