Melbourne Airport has welcomed China’s Juneyao Airlines to Victoria for the first time, as tens of thousands of people head off for summer holidays.

Touching down at Melbourne Airport ahead of what’s expected to be the busiest day of the Christmas travel period, Juneyao Airlines’ inaugural flight from Shanghai was given a water cannon welcome.

The service is operated by the airline’s flagship Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and will initially run three times a week, moving to daily from January.

The new flights take seat capacity in the Chinese market back above 2019 levels for the first time, with overall international capacity into Melbourne Airport now up more than 13 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.

Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said the arrival of one of China’s leading privately owned airlines would provide passengers and Victorian exporters with more choice into one of the state’s most important markets.

“Today’s inaugural flight caps an incredible year of growth for our international services and sets us up for an even bigger 2025,” she said.

“We are proud to welcome Juneyao Airlines and thank them for choosing to partner with Melbourne Airport as we work to provide more choice for Victorians.

“This service will benefit both passengers and producers by providing more competition into China and more opportunity for Victorian producers to export high-value, time sensitive freight to Shanghai and beyond.

“Prior to the pandemic, the tourism spend generated by the Chinese market outstripped the next ten markets combined, so any additional capacity is incredibly important for Victoria.

“Juneyao Airlines boasts a premium product and provides passengers access to a vast network of connections across mainland China but also onwards to Asia and Europe.

“We expect this summer will be the busiest international summer in Melbourne Airport’s history with increased seat capacity allowing more Victorians to travel overseas and more tourists to explore our beautiful state.”