Melbourne Airport has welcomed China Eastern Airlines’ inaugural flight from Nanjing.
It links Victoria for the first time with its sister state, Jiangsu Province.
Nanjing was one of the largest unserved China markets with more than 60,000 passengers travelling between Nanjing and Melbourne every year via connecting services.
The Nanjing flights will operate on Airbus A330 aircraft every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
China Eastern will now operate 13 flights a week out of Melbourne Airport, three more than prior to the pandemic.
The additional capacity now brings the Chinese market back to 92% of pre pandemic levels.
“China is such a critical market for Melbourne Airport and for the state: a daily international flight from China to Melbourne brings in more than $150 million for the Victorian economy,” Airport Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos said.
