High flying freight: airline expansion sees exports surge to unparalleled levels

Freight is flying out of Adelaide Airport at record levels, as new flights secured by the Malinauskas Government help local exporters get their premium and perishable products into market quicker, cheaper and with less risk.

The first release of ABS export stats[1] for 2026 shows $351.1 million worth of goods left South Australia in the bellies of planes over the past year – more than double the lows experienced due to the pandemic’s impact on global aviation.

The new figures also reveal a year-on-year tripling of South Australian lobster exports, with a record $137.3 million sold to the world over the past 12 months – an increase of $95.0 million or 225 per cent.

These extraordinary results follow coordinated efforts by the Malinauskas Government and Adelaide Airport to grow the number of wide-bodied aircraft departing our state each week.

An aggressive strategy to push for the expansion of existing services while also attracting new and returning carriers has been overwhelmingly successful.

Wide-bodied passenger jets like the Airbus A350 and Boeing-787 Dreamliner have a cargo capacity of about 15-tonnes, allowing our products from seafood, dairy and fruit, through to fashion, to get directly into key markets.

This is crucial for exporters like Ferguson Australia, which sells world-class South Australian southern rock lobster to diverse regions including China, Hong Kong, the United States, Singapore and Europe.

Ferguson Australia is already benefitting from United Airlines’ direct Adelaide-San Francisco service, which commenced less than a month ago, loading freight onto the California-bound Dreamliner.

While the local company has previously sent live lobster to San Francisco, it has been forced to route its product through Singapore.

This detour adds more than 6,000km plus hours on the tarmac, with the additional time adding unneeded risk to the venture.

With several airlines expanding their schedules including Qatar and Singapore, as well as new or resuming flights from Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Emirates and United, our capital city has never had more links to the world.

Following the commencement of China Eastern in the middle of this year, 13 international airlines will be operating out of Adelaide Airport, directly connecting Adelaide with North America, the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia.

Quotes

Attributable to Joe Szakacs

When we came to Government, direct flights from Adelaide to the world had reached rock bottom.

We knew we had a monumental task ahead of us to recover what we had lost, and to expand beyond that.

So, it’s pleasing to see Adelaide Airport air freight and lobster exports surging to all-time highs.

These achievements don’t happen by accident.

They are the result of consistent hard work undertaken by our Government and airport to provide our state’s incredible exporters with access to priority markets in which to sell their world-class products.

We’re ahead of where we had projected we would be, but that doesn’t mean we’ll reduce our efforts.

We will double down on our efforts, so that we can further connect our state with the world.

Attributable to Andrew Ferguson, Managing Director, Ferguson Australia

As a business dependent on niche global markets for our highly perishable live product, expanded flight destinations from Adelaide significantly strengthen our export capabilities.

Minimizing time between live tanking and delivery is critical.

The new flight options becoming available from Adelaide are a game changer for our operations.
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[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics (November 2025), International Trade in Goods