The inaugural Juneyao Air service from Shanghai to Sydney, flight HO1669, touched down at Sydney Airport in a move that pushes seat capacity from Sydney to mainland China to the highest level ever.
Follow Aeronews on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok and Bluesky
The airline will operate 4 direct services a week from Sydney to Shanghai, rising to daily during the 2025 lunar new year period, with Juneyao Air welcomed as the ninth mainland-based carrier to connect Sydney Airport with China, the highest number ever.
Sydney Airport now offers the highest seat capacity to mainland China of any Australian airport. Scott Charlton, CEO of Sydney Airport, stated, “We are honoured that Juneyao Air has chosen Sydney as its first Australian destination, cementing our position as Australia’s premier gateway to China.
“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.
In 2019, more than 1.8 million passengers travelled between Sydney and China, 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 travelled between Sydney and China from January to October, and more than 300,000 of these were to or from Shanghai.
Sydney is the first airport in Australia to welcome Juneyao Air and the airlines entry will push seat capacity from Sydney into mainland China to 101 percent of December 2019 levels, with 53,000 weekly seats.
