Travel between China and Australia tipped to rebound rapidly as Chinese airlines ramp up flights

Chinese airlines are ramping up flights to Australia as Covid restrictions ease, boosting the prospects for a rapid rebound in travel between the two nations. Airports said the market was dynamic with carriers large and small restarting routes dormant during the pandemic years, with more flights likely to be added as demand picks up. Lengthy quarantine requirements for travellers to China since 2020 saw passenger flights largely stopped between Australian cities and mainland China. Melbourne, for instance, went from about 70 flights a week to just one while routes between Brisbane and China (excluding Hong Kong) ceased. Tourism Australia said China was Australia’s biggest source of visitors in pre-Covid times, with 1.4 million people spending $12.4bn a year. For Sydney airport, three airlines – China Southern, China Eastern and Xiamen Air – maintained one or two weekly passenger flights between Sydney and the mainland during the Covid period. Freight flights continued at the rate of about three a day. With China now ditching most Covid-linked controls, those three carriers have begun flying as many as three daily flights, a Sydney airport spokesperson said.<br/>