China Southern Launches Its First Fifth Freedom Scheduled Cargo Flight, Connecting the GBA with New Zealand

(July 9, 2025, Guangzhou) China Southern Air Logistics Company Limited officially opened its Guangzhou-Auckland-Sydney cargo route on July 4, marking the first scheduled all-freighter route from the Chinese mainland to New Zealand operated by a domestic airline. Additionally, it is China Southern's first fifth freedom cargo flight, permitting the airline to transport goods between Australia and New Zealand in both directions.

In recent years, the trade cooperation between China and New Zealand has deepened in areas such as agricultural products, electronics, and consumer goods. Since the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement came into effect, the bilateral trade in goods has increased by nearly NZD 30 billion. In the first quarter of 2025, the total trade volume between the two countries reached NZD 10.51 billion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 8.9%. To address the growing cargo demand in Australia and New Zealand, China Southern Air Logistics launched this new cargo route to further build emerging markets and enhance international air transport connections.

The new route is regularly serviced by Boeing 777 freighters, effectively filling the capacity gap in Oceania. This development will significantly reduce cargo transportation time between the Greater Bay Area(GBA) and Australia and New Zealand and offer more efficient logistics solutions for the global expansion of over 300 cross-border e-commerce and high-end manufacturing companies in the GBA.

This route also marks China Southern's first fifth freedom cargo service. Fifth freedom allows a carrier to carry passengers and cargo on a route that includes a stop in a intermediate country. "With the fifth freedom flights, China Southern Air Logistics has established a all-freighter connection between Australia and New Zealand. By enabling the loading and unloading of cargo in Sydney and Auckland, and distributing goods flexibly, we have enhanced the connectivity of our international cargo routes and strengthened our role as an Asia-Pacific transit hub," stated a representative from China Southern Air Logistics.

Currently, China Southern Air Logistics operates a fleet of 19 Boeing 777 freighters, conducting over 80 scheduled international flights per week. It has established an all-cargo route network with an impact radiating out across the globe. In the future, the company will proactively respond to the Belt and Road Initiative, keep expanding the Air Silk Road, and continuously enhance its core capabilities and competitiveness, with the aim to further explore emerging international markets and facilitate the going global of domestic products.