New Route of the Day (2 December 2025): China Southern Airlines between Guangzhou and Madrid
China Southern Airlines entered the Spanish market by introducing flights between its Guangzhou hub and Madrid on Tuesday 2 December. The 10,395-kilometre service will be operated 3-weekly, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with the 787-9 aircraft. The carrier faces no competition between the two cities.
Flight CZ377 departs Guangzhou at 10:50 local time, arriving in Madrid at 18:30 local time. The return service, operating as flight CZ378, takes off at 20:30 local time, touching back down in China at 16:40 local time.
What they said
Yao Jing, Ambassador of China to Spain, said: “This first direct flight between Guangzhou and Madrid will boost flows of people and cargo, and provide a new platform for deeper practical cooperation between our two countries. We hope this route will become a true ‘golden channel’ for economic and trade cooperation and a ‘bridge of friendship’ for our cultural exchanges.
Alberto Ruiz, Minister for Industry and Tourism in the Spanish Government, added: “The opening of this route will further strengthen Sino-Spanish cooperation in trade, investment, innovation and sustainable development, injecting fresh momentum into industrial partnerships and tourism growth.”
Madrid is now linked to eight cities in China
Six Chinese carriers currently maintain flights between the mainland and the Spanish capital. Air China is the largest among them, based on available capacity, operating services from Beijing PEK. It is followed by China Eastern Airlines, from Shanghai PVG and Wenzhou, then Sichuan Airlines from Chengdu, Hainan Airlines from Chongqing and Shenzhen, China Southern Airlines, as well as Capital Airlines from Hangzhou.
Madrid is China Southern Airlines’ first destination in Spain. It is also the first service linking the Southeastern Chinese city with the Iberian Peninsula.
The launch of the new route was followed by the signing of a codeshare agreement between China Southern and Iberia in Madrid. The deal integrates their Guangzhou and Madrid hubs, allowing China Southern passengers to connect onward to Iberia’s network across Spain, Europe and key destinations in Central and South America. Likewise, Iberia passengers arriving in Guangzhou can transfer seamlessly onto China Southern’s domestic and regional services.
