After nearly 600 days since the closing of Australia’s international borders, Qantas restarted international flying today, with flight QF12 from Los Angeles touching down in Sydney at 06:00 this morning. The carrier also launched new Brisbane-Launceston service today.
On Monday (November 1, 2021), Qantas celebrated the restart of international flights after nearly 600 days since Australia closed their international borders. Flight QF12 from Los Angeles touched down in Sydney at 06:00 this morning with no border or quarantine restrictions for fully-vaccinated travelers. At 18:30 on Monday, Qantas flight QF1 from Sydney to London (via Darwin) departed, marking the first regularly scheduled outbound international flight in nearly two years. All passengers traveling to Australia must be fully vaccinated unless they are under 12, and 12-17 year old passengers traveling to Australia with their family or guardian also have an exemption.
In Monday’s announcement, Qantas Group’s CEO, Alan Joyce, said,
“This day has been a long time coming for our people and our customers. It’s wonderful to see Australians able to reunite with loved ones after such a long time apart. It’s been very challenging time for our international crew, with many of them stood down since March 2020. We are in the process of standing up our Australian-based team members who are excited to get back to doing what they love. We are back in the air earlier than anticipated thanks to the millions of people who turned out in droves to get vaccinated. This made it possible for the Federal, and NSW and Victorian governments to open up Australia’s borders and remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers.
“International travel may be a little different for a while with some new requirements and guidelines in place, but one thing that hasn’t changed is Qantas’ commitments to safety and premium service. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome everyone back on board.”
Qantas’ Customer Service Supervisor, Adrienne Innes, who traveled aboard flight QF12 on Monday, added,
“It was amazing to welcome back our passengers, and the whole team was really emotional and excited to be able to take care of them on their journey home.”
In a separate press release on Monday (November 1, 2021), Qantas announced the launch of direct service between Brisbane and Launceston for the first time, to meet increasing travel demand to Tasmania. QantasLink will operate the route three times weekly with a Boeing 717, until at least the end of March 2022. This is the eighth new Tasmanian route launched since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Commenting on the new route launch, QantasLink’s CEO, John Gissing, said,
“Tasmania has become increasingly popular with travellers over the past year, and we’re really pleased to be making it even easier for Queenslanders to visit. More visitors will be great news for the Tasmanian economy this summer. These flights will also provide Launceston residents with more options to visit the Sunshine State, with connections from Brisbane across our expansive Queensland network. We’ll be closely monitoring demand and if it proves successful, we will look to extend the route beyond March. Customers will be able to earn and use points on these new flights and enjoy our premium service, whether its complimentary food and drinks, baggage or access to our lounges in Brisbane or Launceston prior to departure.”
QantasLink’s new Brisbane-Launceston service will complement Jetstar’s existing flights on the route, which will be increased from seven to nine weekly returns this month, operated with Airbus A320 aircraft. Qantas customers can book with confidence, as the carrier’s ‘Fly Flexible’ policy allows for unlimited free date changes for travel through February 28, 2022, though a fare difference may apply.
Source: Qantas
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