Qantas accelerates international flight restart
Qantas is bringing forward the restart of its international flights by two weeks to 1 November 2021 after New South Wales said its borders will now reopen then.
The national carrier welcomed the decision by the NSW Government to remove quarantine arrangements for fully vaccinated arrivals.
Qantas will operate up to five return flights a week from Sydney to London and up to four return flights a week from Sydney to Los Angeles with its Boeing 787 Dreamliners from 1 November.
More flights will be added to meet demand, if needed.
As previously announced, flights to London will operate via Darwin until at least April 2022.
These initial flights are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families.
Flights to other destinations including Singapore, Fiji and Vancouver are still scheduled to commence from 18 December 2021 with other destinations to restart in the new year but Qantas is looking at bringing forward some additional destinations from Sydney if possible.
Flights from 1 November are now on sale.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: "Bringing forward the reopening of Australia to the world and removing quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering New South Wales is a massive step towards life as we knew it."
"In just a little over two weeks, Australians around the world can fly into Sydney and people from around Australia can leave on trips they’ve been waiting almost two years to take."
All passengers on Qantas international flights (aged 12 years and older) will be required to be fully vaccinated with a TGA-approved vaccine.
As part of government requirements, customers on these flights will also be required to return a negative Covid test from an approved PCR testing site 72 hours prior to departure.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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