Qatar Airways has stepped up to assist in bringing Australians home from Lebanon amidst Middle East tensions.
Aligning with a potential Qatar-Virgin Australia tie-up, the airline will operate two repatriation flights, each carrying around 350 passengers, from Cyprus to Sydney via Doha, a QR statement said.
Qatar Airways’ first flight to Cyprus was set for Monday night, with another due on Tuesday.
The announcement comes as Qantas conducts rescue flights from Larnaca, Cyprus, following a request from the Australian Government.
Passengers on the Qantas flights were transported from Beirut on charter services organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Using a B787 Dreamliner, the first Qantas flight arrived in Cyprus on Monday and is due back in Sydney on Tuesday evening, with around 220 passengers. The second flight is expected to depart Larnaca on Wednesday evening and arrive back in Australia on Thursday evening.
In partnership with the Australian Red Cross, QF will provide extra support for passengers on the flights, including providing Trauma Teddies.
At around 15,890 km, the total distance of the rescue flights slightly exceed the distance of QF’s Perth-London service, which is the longest on the Qantas network.
Qatar commitment
In a statement, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer said the Doha-based carrier is committed to helping Australians return home safely.
“We have placed these special charter flights at the request of the Australian Government to ensure that we extend all the necessary support and assistance required to bring those stranded people back home to Australia,” Mr Al Meer said.
Virgin Australia, Qatar’s partner, will provide free transport for passengers to other airports as needed.
The Australian Government will support all of the QF and QR flights, which are free of charge.
When the current Middle East conflict commenced in October 2023, Qatar also repatriated 222 Aussies on a special charter flight from Dubai.
