It is the announcement Queensland’s tourism industry has been waiting for. China Southern Airlines will fly to Brisbane from China 4 times per week, growing to daily within two years.

China was Queensland’s biggest tourism earner before Covid-19 contributing $1.61 billion in overnight visitor expenditure. It has been the largest missing link in the international recovery since the pandemic cancelled direct flights in 2020.

Over three years the reignited service will land almost 278,000 inbound seats to Brisbane, generating nearly $441 million for the visitor economy and supporting up to 1,790 Queensland jobs.

China Southern has been the largest airline in Asia by fleet size for a long time and the largest in China by number of passengers carried. Its services to Brisbane will depart from the airline’s hub in Guangzhou.

It was the first Chinese airline to fly to Brisbane and operated here from 2010 until the pandemic closed borders. Pre-covid, China Southern carried the most Chinese arrivals into the State and was the largest export air-cargo carrier from Queensland to China

Currently the number of passengers arriving from China is sitting at 12% of 2019 levels. China is also a significant source of international students.