ROUTES ASIA: Chengdu and Melbourne Airports Sign Network Development MoU

Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Melbourne Airport have signed a new ‘sister airport’ agreement to foster new direct links and share experiences and best practice in areas such as route development.

The agreement was signed in Chengdu ahead of the Routes Asia conference and will see the two airports working together to foster new international links and also share expertise in operations, planning and retailing.

“China has driven international growth at Melbourne Airport over the last few years and will continue to do so. China is now our most important long-haul market,” said Melbourne Airport CEO, Chris Woodruff.

“With a population of over five million people, numerous spectacular natural attractions and cultural history dating back more than 2,300 years, Chengdu stands as one of China’s great cities and is now a major development hub for south west China with its aviation and transport infrastructure.”

Currently no airline connects the two airports with scheduled services and Chengdu is yet to secure a link to Australia, but Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said he believed the agreement would further strengthen aviation ties between Australia and China and ultimately facilitate additional aviation capacity between the two countries.

"Australia has experienced faster international visitor arrivals and expenditure growth from China than from any other tourism market, with a record 558,000 visitors for the twelve months to January 2012," McEvoy said.

"The aviation market in China alone is enormous and growing at an exponential rate, as the Chinese government continues to invest heavily to develop its airlines and infrastructure, particularly its secondary airports. Better access and having more direct flights to Australia will clearly help convert more of this desire into actual visitation, and this starts with building strong aviation relationships such as this," he concluded.

And airlines are reminded not to forget to see the Melbourne Airport team during Routes Asia for their chance to win a luxury accommodation package for two at Crown Resort to the value of $5,500.