Richard Branson joined passengers on Virgin Australia’s inaugural flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong on July 5 to celebrate the carrier’s new flight route.

The plane was given a water-cannon salute at Melbourne Airport before its departure.

Virgin Australia posted an image of Richard Branson on Facebook, showing the entrepreneur at Melbourne Airport, dressed in a Bendigo Dragon T-shirt, leading a 32-metre dragon through the airport.

According to Australian Aviation, Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti said the new route would operate five times weekly. Credit: Schony747 via Storyful