THE easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China has seen a quick response from regional carriers, with China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Cathay Pacific all increasing their services to and from the country.
China Eastern was first to act, last week announcing it will increase its Shanghai- Sydney service to three weekly flights, up from once per week during the pandemic.
The increased load will be effective from 16 January, just over a week after China dropped its COVID restrictions on international travellers.
MU’s Shanghai- Melbourne flights will also operate thrice weekly from 23 January, with China Eastern saying it will once again fly daily on both services before the end of March.
Prior to the pandemic, China Eastern operated 10 weekly flights on both routes.
China Eastern was quickly joined by one of its fellow “big three” local airlines, China Southern, which announced its increasing of Guangzhou-Sydney services from one to four weekly from 25 January; the week following, China Southern will go daily on the route.
Cathay Pacific also announced plans to double its services from Hong Kong, with a total of 61 weekly return flights to 13 cities in China.
The increase will take place from 14 January, with Cathay marking plans to increase services to more than 100 per week by March.
