Qantas has announced that it intends to resume international flights from Australia earlier than anticipated. It’s now possible to book overseas flights for travel from 1 July, 2021, to key destinations, such as the United Kingdom and United States.
The resumption of international flights will be subject to the start of vaccinations and the reopening of borders, but the decision to sell tickets is based on the carrier’s belief that COVID-19 vaccinations and pre-flight testing will help to restart international travel.
Flights to Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong were originally planned to resume in March, but these have now been pushed back to July.
Good news for travellers to South Africa, with bookings available on the 14-hour flight from Sydney to Johannesburg.
While flights to the United States are scheduled from July, services to New York and Chicago are currently not listed. Other routes that remain suspended include Santiago, Chile, and Fiji.
A Qantas spokesperson has told the Australian travel industry that “We continue to review and update our international schedule in response to the developing COVID-19 situation. Recently we have aligned the selling of our international services to reflect our expectation that international travel will begin to restart from Jul 2021.”
The encouraging news follows further increase in domestic capacity, with Qantas adding seven regional routes last month and now servicing 62 local routes in total.
Qantas has recently updated its Fly Well program and now requires masks to be worn on flights to, from and within New South Wales or Victoria.
When travelling from and within New South Wales or Victoria, you’ll need to wear your mask as soon as you enter the airport, and also inflight. When travelling to New South Wales or Victoria, you’ll need to wear your mask during boarding and inflight.
Hand sanitiser and masks are available as part of the airline’s complimentary Fly Well packs, which can be collected as you board or onboard. Masks need to cover your mouth and nose and must be worn unless you’re under 12 years of age or have a medical condition.
Please check with the states for any other government requirements and you can find more information on border restrictions on our COVID-19 travel updates.