Nanjing is home to more than nine million people.
“The signing of this Sister Airport Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding is an important achievement of both sides working from a shared vision of development and deepening practical cooperation,” said Eastern Airports Group vice president, Fan Hao.
“We look forward to working together on direct flight opportunities, route network links and tourism market promotion, while enhancing service quality and operational efficiency for passengers from both places.”
Canberra Airport CEO, Stephen Byron, said a new international connection as a result of the signing would “open Canberra to the world and bring the world closer to Canberra”.
“This MOU gives us a practical way to work together, share knowledge and explore future collaboration across aviation, tourism, trade, education and cultural exchange.
“There is much we can learn from each other, particularly across airport operations, passenger experience, commercial development, sustainability and future growth,” said Byron.
The ACT’s chief minister, Andrew Barr echoed Byron’s sentiments.
“This agreement helps lay the groundwork for direct flights between Canberra and Nanjing, while bringing our cities closer together,” said Barr.
“Stronger aviation links create economic benefits for tourism, education, research, trade and cultural exchange and deepen people-to-people links between Canberra and Nanjing.”
“Most importantly, this agreement is a vote of confidence in Canberra as a place to visit, to study, to work, to invest and to do business.”
With Canberra having few international connections post-pandemic, flights between the capital and China would be a major win and advantageous for international conferences in Canberra looking to attract Chinese delegates.
Later this year, flights between Canberra and Qatar, via Melbourne, are set to restart on Qatar Airways, providing a major boost to international connectivity for Australia’s capital city.
