Kiwis now have another nonstop flight to South America with the launch of China Eastern Airlines’ Shanghai– Auckland–Buenos Aires service.
It is one of the world’s longest direct flights and has a two-hour stopover in AKL. Air NZ quit flying to Argentina in 2020, leaving the second biggest destination in South America for Kiwis without direct flights, although LATAM continued flights into Chile. The full journey takes around 25.5hours from PVG to EZE and up to 29 hours on the return, including the AKL stop where travellers disembark to transit for the onward journey or stop if New Zealand is their destination. MU classifies it as a single direct service—placing AKL at the heart of one of the most ambitious long-haul links in global aviation.
AKL’s ceo Carrie Hurihanganui said at the launch event that the new connection aligns with the airport’s broader ambition to position New Zealand as a ‘globally relevant’ travel and trade hub. The airport has said the number of searches for Argentina were up 30% year-on-year for travel in the first half of 2026. The new twice-a-week service has been welcomed by the trade here as it offers more choice to South America and opens up potential for more connections to other parts of the continent.
