China Southern flights to Darwin boosts NT connectivity

By Andrew Curran.

Air connectivity in and out of the Northern Territory has improved with new China Southern flights to Darwin (DRW). The airline started thrice-weekly B737-8 round-trips between Guangzhou (CAN) and Darwin on December 4, 2025.

The service becomes the Northern Territory’s only non-stop connection to North Asia and China Southern Airlines, one of the world’s largest airlines in terms of fleet, revenue, and passengers numbers, becomes the third foreign passenger airline to operate into Darwin.

“Welcoming China Southern Airlines into Darwin opens an entirely new gateway between the Top End and one of the world’s largest travel markets,” said Darwin Airport General Manager Rob Porter. “This service will unlock new tourism and business opportunities, strengthening our long-term economic ties with China and Asia more broadly.”

China Southern's Darwin flights add to an already impressive Australian network

Prior to Covid-19, Donghai Airlines flew twice-weekly B737-800 flights between Shenzhen (SZX) and Darwin. However, the service was among the most lightly loaded of all international flights to and from Australia and did not resume when borders reopened.

But China Southern boasts a formidable Australian network, with scheduled services to Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), Brisbane (BNE), Adelaide (ADL), and Perth (PER). All up, the airline will operate over 70 weekly round-trips between Guangzhou and Australia this summer.

Kevin Mulvahil, Chair of Darwin’s International Business Council, said connectivity in and out of Darwin was critical for the local economy.

“The expansion of aviation services to Darwin is great news,” he said.

International passenger traffic through Darwin Airport slumped during the pandemic and has struggled to fully recover. But in the past year, there has been a quiet comeback.

Qantas started direct B737-800 services to Singapore (SIN), complementing its existing flights to Dili (DIL), and AirAsia began non-stop services to Kuala Lumpur (KUL).

Singapore Airlines continues to connect Darwin with Singapore, while Jetstar flies its A320-200s to and from Denpasar (DPS). Local airline Airnorth operates to and from Dili. Including the Australian operators, six international airlines service Darwin.

Darwin Airport still poorly connected

But despite the new flights, Darwin remains the worst connected of all Australia’s mainland capital cities. Only Hobart (HBA) fares worse. Australian Government statistics show the Darwin Airport handled 1.786 million passengers in the 12 months to August 31, 2025. Almost 648,000 of those passengers were on an international flight. The China Southern flights will add another 58,000 seats annually into the airport.

Darwin Airport Head of Aviation Development, Allan Woo, said on LinkedIn that the bigger capital city airports tended to “get all the attention.”

“It was a joy to see the excitement and enthusiasm from our local travel agents,” he wrote about the new service.

Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce CEO Glen Hingley, said the new China Southern flights to Darwin were an “awesome outcome.”

“This is a game-changer not just for Darwin but for Northern Australia,” he said. “With the international connectivity that we now have from Darwin, we are directly connected by just one flight to a population of 31.8 million people… there’s got to be a solid opportunity in that.”

CZ8361 is departing Guangzhou every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday for a next morning arrival in Darwin. The return flight, CZ8362, operates during daylight hours every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. China Southern’s two class B737-8 seats 174 passengers in economy class and four passengers in business class.

Photo: Darwin Airport.

Map: GCMapper.com.