Virgin Australia (VA) is gearing up to begin flying again from Australia to Nadi, just in time for Christmas. The routes will herald the return of the first international sectors for the newly owned airline since the pandemic began.
Last Friday’s Federal Government announcement that Australia’s international border will reopen in mid-November brought with it a wave of optimism and joy that finally, we are on track to resuming travel once again.
For Virgin Australia, the news saw traffic to its website and subsequent Fiji flight searches spike by over 250 per cent with a strong uplift in Fiji bookings following.
The airline also says it is likely to move their Fiji services forward to start mid-December to “better align with the commencement of the busy Christmas holiday period.”
VA will operate daily return services between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to Fiji, which will likely increase to double daily services once travel demand returns.
Sharing the positive news, a Virgin Australia Group spokesperson said “We currently have a number of Virgin Australia services on sale now between Sydney-Nadi and Brisbane-Nadi from 23 December 2021, and Melbourne-Nadi from 24 December 2021.
“We’ll continue to add flights as demand for travel increases and international travel restrictions begin to ease.”
At this stage, Fiji expects to reopen its borders to tourists by November 1. By then the government expects to have fully vaccinated at least 80 per cent of its eligible population.
As of the end of September, 95.8 per cent of adults had received at least one dose while 72.5 per cent are now fully vaccinated.
Virgin Australia says services to Bali and New Zealand will also resume from early 2022.
Tickets are currently on sale at virginaustralia.com, with fares starting from $289 one way inclusive of taxes.
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