Qantas brings forward international flights to November 1

Qantas will bring forward the restart of its international flights by two weeks to November 1, 2021, after the Australian and New South Wales governments confirmed borders will reopen on that date. Qantas has also welcomed the decision by the NSW Government to remove quarantine arrangements for fully vaccinated arrivals. The airline said that it 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 with its Boeing 787 from November 1. Qantas said that more flights will be added to meet demand if needed. Flights to London will operate via Darwin 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 said that flights to other destinations including Singapore, Fiji, and Vancouver are still scheduled to commence from December 18, 2021, with other destinations to restart in the new year. READ: Qatar gets green light for UK flights READ: New technology tracking of MH370 to start.  SEE: Geoffrey Thomas discusses Bonza's launch The airline added that "in light of the shift to remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travelers arriving in New South Wales, the Qantas Group is looking at bringing forward some additional destinations from Sydney if possible." Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said that “bringing forward the reopening of Australia to the world and removing quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travelers 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 percent target. “Removing quarantine for the fully vaccinated is a sensible approach and brings New South Wales into line with many other global cities," Mr. Joyce said. Qantas said that the following rules will apply to passengers.

• 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, passengers 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.
• Click here for full details of the requirements.