Shanghai flights to be suspended

The Australian flag carrier said its flight service from Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD) to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) will be suspended from July 28, 2024, due to low demand.

Qantas resumed its Sydney-Shanghai service in October 2023 after it was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, according to the carrier, demand has not recovered as anticipated.  

Qantas said it will consider returning the service when demand for the route returns. 

The airline said customers booked to travel on Shanghai flights from July 28, 2024, will be contacted and offered a full refund.

According to Qantas, aircraft used on the Shanghai route will be redirected to boost services to other destinations across Asia where there is increasing demand or new tourism opportunities.

鈥淪ince COVID, the demand for travel between Australia and China has not recovered as strongly as expected. In some months, our flights to and from Shanghai have been operating around half full,鈥� Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said in a statement.

鈥淲e鈥檒l continue to maintain a presence in China through our partners and our existing flights to Hong Kong and look to return to Shanghai in the future,鈥� Wallace added.

Brisbane to Manila flights to be launched

From October 28, 2024, Qantas will begin flights from Brisbane Airport (BNE) to Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) in the Philippines.

The four-times weekly flights will be operated by the airline精东影业 fleet of A330 aircraft.

Qantas last flew the Brisbane-Manila route a decade ago. 

Additional flights to Singapore and India

Qantas flights from Sydney to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) will increase from 14 to 17 return flights per week from December 11, 2024.

Brisbane to Singapore will increase from seven to nine return flights per week from October 27, 2024, timed to improve connectivity with Qantas鈥� daily service from SIN Airport to London-Heathrow Airport (LHR). Qantas said the new connection will reduce overall travel time to London by around four hours. 

Flights from Sydney to Bengaluru Airport (BLR) will also increase from five per week to daily in order to cater to strong demand over the peak holiday season from mid-December 2024 to late March 2025.

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• Aviation Technology and Innovation

byJean Carmela Lim

2024-07-06

The new route will see flights take off between the UK精东影业 third biggest city and Shanghai from July 1, 2024, in a first for an airport outside London.听听

Flights will run three times a week on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft with business and economy classes. 

The new route is seen as a major boost for the region that will help to deliver economic growth and will serve more than 13,500 Chinese residents who live in Manchester and hundreds of thousands of students from China living within a two-hour drive of MAN.听听

A further 8,000 Chinese people live in Liverpool, 7,000 in Sheffield and 6,000 in Leeds. 

Shanghai is China精东影业 biggest city and its financial hub, with around 185,000 people from across the north of England already travelling there indirectly each year. 

The Shanghai-Manchester route was first announced in 2019 and was due to launch in March 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I am delighted to see that with the joint efforts of all parties, the Shanghai-Manchester route will resume this July, becoming the first direct scheduled passenger route between Shanghai and Manchester. On behalf of Juneyao Air, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all partners and passengers for their support over the years,鈥� said Juneyao Air Chairman, Wang Junjin. 

He added: 鈥淚 also hope this route will bring more business opportunities and flexible travel options to all passengers, and promote economic exchanges between Shanghai and Manchester, as well as between China and the UK.” 

When a route from Manchester to Beijing was first launched in 2016 export values from Manchester Airport to China grew 41% and enquiries about investment in the area from China doubled in the two years that followed. 

鈥淲e are proud to connect the North to the world, whether that精东影业 for tourism, leisure or to help family and friends visit each other. The fact that Juneyao Air has chosen Manchester as its first UK service is a huge boost to the region for so many reasons. It will allow people to travel and see one of the world精东影业 most incredible cities, open up opportunities for business and trade with China精东影业 financial hub and help the North精东影业 Chinese community connect with their family and friends,鈥� Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said.聽

The new route to Shanghai will complement the existing service from Manchester to Beijing with Hainan Airways.聽

In Europe currently flies directly to Finland, Greece, and Italy.听听

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• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2024-03-22

The first Sydney-Shanghai flight took off on October 29, 2023, and marks the final international destination to return to Qantas鈥� pre-COVID network since borders reopened. 

The Australian flag-carrier has also announced that the airline is adding another direct service between Australia and Europe.  

From July 2024, Qantas will fly directly to Paris from Perth which compliments the carrier精东影业 direct flights from Australian city to London and Rome. 

The new year-round route will see Qantas operate to the French capital for the first time in nearly two decades, cutting around three hours off the current fastest travel time from Perth to Paris. 

From July 12, 2024, the 17-hour Perth-Paris flights will initially operate four days per week (during the peak European summer) with the airline精东影业 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Services will then move to three per week from mid-August 2024. 

The launch of the new route comes just in time for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e the only airline offering these direct flights rather than going through a mid-point because the key market we serve is Australia. Our in-flight service is designed with long-haul travel in mind,鈥� Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said. 

Hudson added: 鈥淭he schedule we鈥檝e announced today will add more than 75,000 seats between Australia and Europe each year and we鈥檒l be working with to help make the most of the opportunity to bring tourists here, knowing that direct flights are a big factor in people deciding where to travel.鈥� 

The Shanghai flights will initially operate five days per week with an Airbus A330 aircraft, adding more than 2,500 seats per week between Australia and China, and growing to over 4,000 seats per week when services increase to daily in late March 2024. 

鈥淎dding Shanghai back on our network map is great news for our customers, especially those travelling for business or visiting friends and relatives in China as well as providing critical additional air freight between the two countries. The business travel market is a key focus for this route, and we expect the recent trade developments will drive more travel between Australia and China,鈥� Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said. 

Wallace added: 鈥淭he business travel market is a key focus for this route, and we expect the recent trade developments will drive more travel between Australia and China. While demand from Chinese visitors wanting to travel to Australia is below the record levels that we saw prior to the pandemic, demand has been steadily climbing since borders reopened.鈥� 

Qantas also operates flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Hong Kong. 

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• Aircraft
• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2023-10-29

According to the passenger, who was sharing her experience on Facebook, Flight SQ833 was due to take off at 4.45pm on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, but by midnight everyone was still stuck on the plane.  

鈥淲e have been trapped in cabin for 8 hours in Pu Dong Airport. The captain refused to let us out of the plane. There is no air conditioning and not enough air circulation. They put all passengers鈥� lives in danger,鈥� the passenger wrote.  

In a statement provided by SIA to (CNA), the airline apologized for the issues that the passengers experienced. 

“Sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused to customers by the flight cancellation of SQ833 on Sep 6, 2023,鈥� a spokesperson for the airline said. 

SIA added that the Airbus A380 “encountered technical issues when the aircraft was still on the ground”.   

The passenger shared a video from the cabin of the A380 showing people standing up and trying to cool themselves down with makeshift fans.  

In a later Facebook post, the passenger wrote: 鈥淚t was a plane technical issue. So, they turned off the engine twice for a total of more than 2 hours. And locked everyone in the cabin 8 hours while they tried to fix the issue. It精东影业 a 100% SQ disaster!鈥� 

According to CNA, the passenger said that the air conditioning was turned off for over an hour. SIA claimed that “for safety reasons, the ground power had to be disabled while the checks were going on”.  

Passengers were provided with refreshments, but some required oxygen masks because they were feeling out of breath. 

According to SIA, passengers finally left the aircraft at 12.30 am on September 7, 2023, and were rebooked onto other flights. 

The airline said that subject to regulatory approval, from February 2023, Etihad will fly to Pudong International Airport (PVG) from Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) two times per week using its fleet of Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft.

In addition to its weekly service to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) and a twice-weekly service to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN), Etihad will now have a total of five weekly direct flights between Abu Dhabi and China.   

“Etihad Airways is delighted to add a second weekly passenger service to Shanghai following the further relaxation of Covid-related travel measures,鈥� Martin Drew, senior vice president of global sales & cargo at Etihad Aviation Group said in a .

“China is a market of primary importance to Etihad, and as one of the country’s largest financial and economic centers, Shanghai plays a crucial role in our network. Etihad is committed to developing our operation to China, and we look forward to welcoming more travelers on board in the new year to experience our award-winning hospitality,” Drew further stated.

Etihad精东影业 announcement comes after China said it will be ending its quarantine policies just before the beginning of the Lunar New Year celebrations in January 2023. 

China has been moving away from its strict zero-COVID policies over the course of the past few months, following protests and unrest in many cities across the country.听听聽

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• Airlines

byJean Carmela Lim

2022-06-28

This decision will affect passenger flights that were scheduled to arrive at Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) between March 21 and May 1, 2022. 

The move was taken by the Chinese aviation regulator on March 15, 2022, following a new outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Shanghai. The temporary flight diversions will affect a number of major Chinese airlines, including Air China, Shanghai Airlines, China Eastern, Spring Airlines, and Juneyao Air. Passenger services of particular carriers will be redirected to another 12 airports across China including Chengdu (CTU), Chongqing (CGK), Dalian (DLC), Fuzhou (FOC), and other cities. 

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• Airport

byVictoria Bryan

2022-03-15

The Chinese aviation regulator did not disclose if the new temporary policy will affect any freight services during the given period. 

According to the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, as of March 14, 2022 Shanghai has confirmed nine new infection cases as well as 130 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases, the majority of them linked to inbound international air travel. 

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• Airport

byGabriele Petrauskaite

2022-03-15

Flight DL 287 departed Seattle using an Airbus 330-900 on December 21, 2021 at 23:09 local time. Based on flight tracker site DL 287 was 鈥榙iverted鈥� on December 22, 2021. 

A Delta spokesperson confirmed with 精东影业 that Flight 287 from Seattle to Shanghai indeed returned to Seattle while it was en route to Shanghai. 

Delta told Aerotime: 

鈥淭o be compliant with cleaning mandates required at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) that were issued by the Chinese Government on December 21, Flight 287 from Seattle to Shanghai returned to SEA while it was en route to PVG. The new cleaning procedures require significantly extended ground time and are not operationally viable for Delta.鈥�

While it is not clear what exactly the new cleaning mandates are, the incident came just as China put the northeastern city of Xian, with a population of 13 million people, in a. China is doubling down on its 鈥渮ero tolerance鈥� policy in preparation for the Winter Olympics, which starts February 4, 2022.

According to local news site , Taiwan-based carrier EVA Air will suspend flights from Taipei to Shanghai until February 3, 2022, also due to the new stringent cleaning procedures mandated by the Chinese government. 

Port terminals in Shanghai and nearby regions have also suspended container import and export service from September 13, 2021 until further notice. 

With winds more than 170 kilometers per hour near its eye, Typhoon Chanthu is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rains throughout China精东影业 coastal regions.

Roughly 28 million people call Shanghai their home and authorities not just in Shanghai but neighboring regions have suspended school until September 14, 2021.

The suspension of flights came three weeks after Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) suspended its cargo operations due to new COVID-19 testing and requirements brought by an increase in COVID-19 cases.

The Shanghai Airport (Group) Limited announced the flight cancellations on their . They are advising passengers with affected flights to refer to their respective airlines鈥� official websites, WeChat and social media pages for updates. 

Cargo operations at Shanghai hit by new COVID restrictions

• Air Cargo

byVictoria Bryan

2021-08-23

Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) is mainland China精东影业 largest cargo airport, but rising COVID-19 case numbers in China have led to new restrictions and affected handling capacity in recent days. 

鈥淭hese new restrictions apply to airport staff, working as frontline staff for international air traffic, and have led to a significant reduction in freight handling capacities at some Chinese airports,鈥� Lufthansa Cargo tells 精东影业 News.  

Lufthansa Cargo has therefore had to adjust its flight schedule. 鈥淲e are not accepting any additional freight for transport to Shanghai up to and including August 27. Goods that have already been delivered to us will be shipped on the remaining flights,鈥� the company said. 

鈥淏ecause the situation remains unstable, further changes may be necessary,鈥� the freight arm of Lufthansa Group added. 鈥淭he Lufthansa Cargo team is doing all it can to minimize the impact on our customers.鈥�

Other carriers, such as Qatar Airways and Polar Cargo, are rerouting cargo to Guangzhou, Zhengzhou and Shenzhen, or Hong Kong, Freight Waves reported. 

Etihad Cargo and other carriers have cancelled flights over the weekend, Freight Waves added, saying the new restrictions would lead to backlogs and further impact already stretched supply chains.

On December 1, 2020, the airlines confirmed the halting of direct flights to Shanghai and adding Seoul, South Korea on the route. The airlines took the decision due to long waits for COVID-19 testing while entering China and restricted accommodation for the staff. The difficulty of finding hotels and restrictions on movement could interfere with the mandatory crew rest requirements, they also noted. 

In December 2020, American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) planned to begin nonstop cargo flights from Los Angeles to Shanghai but will continue to operate the flight with a stop in Seoul. On the way back to Los Angeles it will fly nonstop, reported CNBC. 

鈥淲e started operating passenger service from DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) to PVG (Shanghai Pudong) on November 11 through Seoul (ICN) due to testing requirements for crews,鈥� said the spokesperson from American Airlines (A1G) (AAL), adding that the company精东影业 cargo flights will also be operating through Seoul for the same reason.

United Airlines said it has added a stop in Seoul on its San Francisco-Shanghai route. However, passengers traveling to Shanghai would stay on the plane during the stop.

鈥淲e adjusted service between San Francisco and Shanghai to now include a stop in Seoul, South Korea for a crew change as we did earlier this year,鈥� United Airlines spokesman Jonathan Guerin said.

On the other hand, Delta Air Lines plans to offer nonstop flights to Shanghai from Seattle and Detroit in the first week of December 2020. 

鈥淒elta currently operates two flights a week from Shanghai to Seattle and Detroit, providing passengers with convenient transportation covering any city on the East and west coast of the United States,鈥� said Huang Kang, President of Delta China. 

United Airlines, American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) and Delta Air Lines grounded their regular passenger flights between China and the US due to the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020. In June 2020, the United States Department of Transportation (DoT) announced the banning of Chinese passenger airlines flying into the US. Later on, the US and China agreed to allow four weekly flights between the two nations and raised that number to eight in August 2020. In November 2020, American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) restarted the flights to China, lifting the number of weekly flights to ten. 

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• Civil Aviation

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