Slated to start flying from 1 November, Qantas has suspended ticket sales for its direct Perth–Johannesburg service as well as its Perth–Jakarta flights (scheduled to commence on 30 November) while the airline irons out customs and biosecurity requirements for these flights to operate out of Perth Airport’s Terminal 3.
Ticket sales were removed from the website this week, leaving only the connecting four times weekly Sydney–Johannesburg service available for South Africa-bound travellers.
Qantas has confirmed the temporary sales suspension of new tickets, saying it expects the flights to still go ahead according to schedule as the airline works with the Australian Border Force and other government departments.
“We have temporarily paused selling flights for our new Perth–Johannesburg and Perth–Jakarta routes as we work with Australian Border Force and other government departments on the Customs and Biosecurity requirements for these flights,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
“Our flights from Perth to London, Singapore and Rome are operating and available for booking as normal.”
The inaugural Perth–Johannesburg flight is set to provide the only direct service between Australia and South Africa with three weekly flights and will be operated on Qantas’ Airbus A330 aircraft.
The service will cut more than six hours from the current travel time with customers heading to Johannesburg from Perth currently having to fly on Qantas via Sydney or via the Middle East.
Both the Perth to Johannesburg and Jakarta routes were reported as being supported by the Western Australian Government’s Reconnect WA package.
Qantas had said it would work with Tourism Western Australia to boost inbound tourism from both South Africa and Indonesia into Perth and regional WA with the cooperation of Perth Airport.
To find out more, visit qantas.com/au
