Ottawa announces ‘incremental increase’ in direct flights to China

OTTAWA — Ottawa has announced an increase in the number of direct flights permitted to bring passengers and cargo to and from China.

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon says there will be “an incremental increase” in flights between the countries in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s outreach visit to Beijing in January.

Canadian and Chinese airlines will be allowed to boost the number of direct passenger flights and to conduct up to 20 cargo flights per week, he says, with “reciprocal access to all points in each country.”

Ottawa says this should help promote trade diversification and tourism as Canada looks to increase exports to China by 50 per cent by 2030.

The frequency of flights between the two countries recovered slowly after the COVID-19 pandemic, to the dismay of various Canadian companies which faced costly flights and long layovers.

Work on restoring direct flights was delayed in part by Canada insisting on not allowing routes that fly over Russian territory — part of Ottawa’s efforts to discourage airlines from paying Moscow fees during its war on Ukraine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2026.