China travel boom triggers flight expansion as Sydney locks in new international airline

As Aussie travel to China surges to record highs, Sydney Airport is locking in a brand new international airline to keep up with massive demand.

Shenzhen Airlines will add approximately 130,000 seats to China annually, catering for an expected 100,000 extra passengers, from Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport.

From December 14, the airline will run four weekly services from Sydney to Shenzhen, an ultra-modern tech mega-city just across the border from Hong Kong.

Shenzhen will offer a point of difference for travellers holidaying in China, allowing Aussies to compare airlines to find the best price for their Asian getaway.

China rocketed into the top-five most popular overseas holiday destinations for Australians during 2025, overtaking the UK, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In July alone, Australians returned from 55,970 short-term trips to China, a figure that has grown steadily year on year since the pandemic.

Flight Centre confirmed China tourism is growing. Aussie travel bookings to China for the first half of 2026 were up 45 per cent on the previous year, largely driven by increased flight capacity.

Flight Centre global leisure CEO, James Kavanagh, said China is "an incredibly family-friendly and affordable holiday destination, brimming with rich culture, fascinating history, and world-class cuisines".

"The growth we're seeing can also be attributed to the significant increase in capacity from Chinese carriers coming into Australia, which makes for more affordable airfare prices that travellers are taking advantage of," Kavanagh said.

FCM Travel general manager ANZ, Renos Rologas, said the added capacity and a new airline joining Sydney's tarmac couldn't come at a better time.

"Capacity between Australia and China has been improving steadily over the past 12 months, and it's really only in recent months that we've started to see seat availability on the route consistently at strong, sustained levels," Rologas said.

Shenzhen Airlines is also a new addition to Melbourne International Airport, running three services weekly since December 2025.