Canberra now has 14 international flights per week, connecting our city to Asia, the Middle East and on to and Europe, through Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways, and the ACT Government is working to expand this global connectivity even further.

Our goal is for Canberra to have international aviation connections to all points on the compass to connect Canberra with even more of the world - via the north to China and via the east to New Zealand and onto the United States.

Canberra's international flights

We’ve been working with Canberra Airport to negotiate with airlines about re-connecting Canberra to New Zealand.

In the final months of the Singapore Airlines service to Wellington, the sector often operated at 70 per cent capacity and the market grew by 20 per cent, showing there is a clear and compelling case to reintroduce the connection.

Last week I also led a ministerial delegation to China where, accompanied by representatives from Canberra Airport, we met senior representatives from China’s largest airlines – China Southern, Air China and Beijing Capital Airlines. 

China is Canberra’s and Australia’s biggest market by both visitor volume and visitor spend and direct flights present a significant opportunity for boosting visitation to our region, as well as enhancing trade, investment, freight and business opportunities for our growing city.