Fresh off the back of the news that domestic and international travellers will be able to leave New South Wales and will not have to quarantine or isolate upon arrival home from November 1, Qantas has announced it will bring forward the restart of its international flights out of Sydney by two weeks to take off on the same day.
The national carrier has welcomed the decision by the NSW Government to remove quarantine arrangements for fully vaccinated arrivals, which is in line with many countries around the world including the U.K and U.S.
Qantas will operate up to five return flights a week from Sydney to London and up to four return flights a week from Sydney to Los Angeles on its 787 Dreamliners from 1 November.
The airline says more flights will be added to meet demand if needed.
Flights to London will operate via Darwin rather than direct from Perth until at least April 2022.
These initial flights are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and parents in line with Australian Government requirements.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “Bringing forward the reopening of Australia to the world and removing quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering New South Wales is a massive step towards life as we knew it.
“In just a little over two weeks, Australians around the world can fly into Sydney and people from around Australia can leave on trips they’ve been waiting almost two years to take. We hope other states will do the same once they reach the 80 per cent target.
The airline says flights to other destinations including Singapore, Fiji and Vancouver are still scheduled to commence from 18 December 2021 with other destinations to restart in the new year.
However, in light of the shift to remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers arriving in New South Wales, the Qantas Group is looking at bringing forward some additional destinations from Sydney if possible.
“Removing quarantine for the fully vaccinated is a sensible approach and brings New South Wales into line with many other global cities,” said Mr Joyce.
“I want to thank the Prime Minister and Premier Perrottet for the leadership they have shown in getting borders reopened again, which is only possible because so many Australians have rolled up their sleeves in record time.”
How will flying on Qantas internationally work?
- All passengers on Qantas international flights (aged 12 years and older) will be required to be fully vaccinated with a TGA-approved vaccine (unless they have an exemption).
- As part of government requirements, customers on these flights will also be required to return a negative COVID test from an approved PCR testing site 72 hours prior to departure.
- The NSW Government will advise on what additional testing requirements will be required on arrival in the coming days.
Flights from 1 November are now on sale. Passengers who have already booked to travel to and from Los Angeles or London and want to travel earlier can make a fee-free date change to their flight on the ‘manage my booking’ section of qantas.com
*International flights remain subject to Government and Regulatory approval.
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