Qantas Freight has begun a weekly cargo service between Sydney and Chongqing. The full route is Sydney-Chongqing-Pudong (Shanghai)-Chicago-New York-Sydney.

A Boeing 747, all-cargo aircraft will arrive at Chongqing Airport at 12:15am on Saturday and depart at 2:20am. The airline aims to serve Chongqing IT enterprises in transporting their products to North America and Australia.

It will be the first air freight route in China’s central and western regions to be linked with Australia, Chongqing government sources said.

Chongqing’s international air freight volume is likely to exceed 100,000 tonnes this year.