Sharp-eyed travellers at Sydney Airport may have spotted a positive sign for aviation on Friday, with a major global airline returning after a six-week hiatus.
In a positive step for the carrier, Qatar Airways returned to Sydney late last week for the first time since the US-Iran war broke out.
Predictably, the airline will initially operate its Sydney-Doha service on a reduced schedule, rather than its usual multiple-daily operation.
But Qatar’s return to Sydney forms part of a gradual reintroduction of flights between Australia and Qatar as the national airline and country look to rebuild confidence in travelling through the Gulf nation, if not yet to it (the Australian Government still advises Aussies not to travel to Qatar – level 4 advisory).
In a phased rollout of flights, Qatar Airways began April with three-times-weekly services from Melbourne and Perth, before resuming three-times-weekly services from Sydney on 10 April.
According to a message from the airline to its Australian travel trade partners, the carrier will increase frequency from the three cities to five flights per week starting 15 April, before flying daily to/from each port from 1 May.
The airline aims to return around 60% of its global capacity by the end of April.
In another step forward, the oneworld member will also resume flying to Brisbane on 16 May, with four flights per week, leaving just Adelaide and Canberra without nonstop flights to Doha.
The planned schedule is confirmed through 15 June 2026.
On its website, the airline says its latest revised schedule aims to increase flights to and from Doha to “more than 120 destinations by mid-May 2026 across Qatar Airways’ global network”.
“All flights to and from Doha continue to operate through dedicated flight corridors established in close coordination with the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority,” it adds.
Meanwhile, Emirates continues to operate Sydney and Melbourne with twice-daily flights, and Perth with a daily service. Brisbane and Adelaide flights remain grounded.
In an update on 10 April, the Dubai-based carrier said it would develop its operational schedule in line with the partial reopening of regional airspace in March.
While the Government advises Australians not to travel (level 4) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai continues to operate as normally as possible amid the volatile security situation in the region.
To this end, it recently held one of its largest annual events: the 30th Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse.
“Successfully delivering the Dubai World Cup under such challenges was a testament to the dedication of our country, its leadership, our teams, and our partners,” Dubai Racing Club CEO Ali Al Ali told The National.
Fellow UAE carrier Etihad Airways says that it continues to operate a “comprehensive commercial flight schedule, serving around 80 destinations worldwide”.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline is currently operating reduced flights to/from Sydney and Melbourne.
Fare-watch
To help stimulate demand for flights through the Persion Gulf, its carriers are offering some fares that are less than half those of other major airlines out of Australia.
A direct search for economy class tickets between Sydney and London with the three main Gulf airlines, flying on 1 May and returning on 15 May, shows fares well under $2,000, with Emirates fares even less than $1,300.
By comparison, economy fares with Qantas and Singapore Airlines (the two largest groups flying out of Australia) via Changi on the nearest available dates (4 May for Qantas) are in excess of $4,000.
The Don’t Forget Travel Group Director Andrew Sullivan says that many of his customers flying Qatar and Emirates are still going ahead with their travel, albeit at a later date for some.
“I haven’t had anyone wanting to cancel,” he told Karryon in March.
However, this month he said that “a few more people travelling in June and July are now starting to feel less confident with their decisions to continue as the conflict drags on”.
On airfares, he said that some clients had held out for lower prices with Gulf carriers that would stimulate demand – and that has been at least partly vindicated.
“One thing I have noticed is that Etihad have brought out some good pricing for Europe for travel up to the end of June. So some clients were right,” he said.
