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Canberra Airport's first international service in over a decade touches down

The last time Canberra Airport had scheduled commercial international services, 'Shrek 2' was released in cinemas, Tobey Maguire was still Spider-Man and Premium Economy was just some head-honchos dream.

The last time Canberra Airport had scheduled commercial international services, ‘Shrek 2’ was released in cinemas, Tobey Maguire was still Spider-Man and Premium Economy was just some head-honchos dream.

However, today marked the start of a new era of travel for Australia’s capital, with Singapore Airlines delivering the city’s first scheduled international flight in 12 years.

Flight SQ291 touched down in Canberra early this morning from Changhi, where some guests disembarked and other embarked for the onward flight to Wellington in New Zealand.

Image: Singapore Airlines/Facebook

Image: Singapore Airlines/Facebook

For now, the Singapore-Canberra-Wellington ‘Capital Express’ will operate four times weekly, but this could increase with demand.

According to Canberra Airport’s Managing Director, Stephen Byron, the airline and gateway are focused on growing the service to at least one extra flight over the coming years, ABC News reported.

Image: Singapore Airlines/Facebook

Image: Singapore Airlines/Facebook

Byron added that he also hopes the second leg of the flight from Canberra to Wellington will attract more Kiwi visitors.

Canberra Airport along with local tourism leaders have been hard at work over the last few years to improve the destination’s image amongst international tourists, while also building the right infrastructure for the airline to handle and attract international airlines.

Some of the bigger changes include the opening of new properties such as the Little National Hotel, as well as the unveiling of designs for a new $18 million international departures lounge.

Do you hope to see more airlines flying internationally from Canberra?