Juneyao Air’s inaugural flight from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) touched down at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) on December 17, 2024.
This makes the Shanghai-based carrier the ninth Chinese airline to operate in SYD airport.
Flight HO1669 departed Shanghai at approximately 18:00 local time and arrived in Sydney the following day at 06:44 local time after a flight time of nine hours and 56 minutes.
The airline will operate four direct services a week from Sydney to Shanghai, increasing to daily during the 2025 Lunar New Year period.
Sydney Airport now offers the highest seat capacity to mainland China of any Australian airport.
“We are honoured that Juneyao Air has chosen Sydney as its first Australian destination, cementing our position as Australia’s premier gateway to China,” Scott Charlton, CEO of Sydney Airport said in a statement.
“Juneyao Air’s decision to launch the Shanghai-Sydney route with four flights per week is a testament to the strong and growing relationship between Sydney and Shanghai.
China is one of Sydney Airport’s most important markets – our third largest – and Shanghai is the leading gateway within that market, so we’re excited about the opportunities this will bring for the airport and our passengers,” Charlton continued.
“The arrival of Juneyao Air’s inaugural Sydney-Shanghai flight marks an exciting milestone for the NSW visitor economy. China continues to be one of our top-performing international markets, contributing $3.5 billion in visitor expenditure in the year ending June 2024. This new route will strengthen connections and drive further growth,” said Destination NSW Acting CEO, Stephen Mahoney.
According to data from Sydney Airport, more than 1.8 million passengers travelled between Sydney and China in 2019, with almost half a million of these journeys linked directly to Shanghai.
Since the reopening of borders in 2023, Sydney Airport has been at the forefront of the recovery of the Australia-China aviation market.
In 2024, 1.3 million passengers traveled between Sydney and China from January to October, and more than 300,000 of these were to or from Shanghai.