Qantas reconsiders: no international flights until October 2021
At first it seemed that Qantas was to restart international flights in July. Now, a new change in [...]
Qantas
Oneworld
At first it seemed that Qantas should restart in July with international flights. Now, a new change of plans: the Australian flag carrier will not leave the country's borders for much longer.
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How to survive the pandemic, then? We told you about the (very original) idea of the vector a few days ago, talking to you about the Mystery Flights, Surprise destination flights to rediscover domestic tourism. But when will we be able to board a Qantas plane again, to fly to Australia or anywhere in the world?
Australia remains closed
Initially, the entry ban on foreign nationals was supposed to end on March 17. Earlier this month, however, the Australian government decided to extend it to the June 17. "The rest of the world continues to pose an unacceptable risk to the public health of Australians. The extension of the emergency period for an additional three months is justified to mitigate this risk to the health and safety of all," was how Greg Hunt, Minister of Health, announced the decision.
This brings to 15 months of lockdown for Australia. Fifteen months of an absolute ban on Australians leaving the country but, more importantly, an absolute ban on foreigners crossing national borders.
But there's more: the assumption is that Australia will keep closed its borders until 2022. "I think we will continue with the international restrictions throughout this year," Health Department Secretary Brendan Murphy said during an interview with ABC. "Even though most of the population will be vaccinated this year, as planned, we don't know if that will prevent transmission of the virus." A very tough policy, Australia's, which reaches its peak in the quarantine requirement. Anyone entering the country, even a returning Australian, must now undergo a Mandatory quarantine in one of the hotels specified by the government, at its own expense (about 2,000 euros).
Photo from Pixabay
Qantas, flights canceled until October
At the beginning of the year, the CEO of Qantas had assured it: borders reopened and international flights resumed from July 1, 2021. Then, as the Covid-19 pandemic worsened and new variants spread, concern prevailed. On July 1, the borders will certainly not reopen and, as a result, international flights will not resume either.
The new date identified now is the October 31, 2021. By that day, Qantas plans to resume flying to 22 of its 25 international destinations pre Covid-19 (including London, Los Angeles, Singapore, and Johannesburg). However, it initially has no plans to relaunch direct flights to New York, Santiago, and Osaka. Even when it resumes its long-haul operations, things will change: the number of passengers allowed on board will be limited, as will the frequency of flights.
In essence, Qantas' timeline includes:
- Flights to New Zealand from July 1
- Restart of most international routes from Oct. 31
- Flights to New York, Santiago and Osaka paused (purchase of three new Boeing 387s remains on hold until they resume)
- Airbus 380 grounded until June 30, 2023
- International flights operated by Airbus A330s and Boeing 787s
By October 31, all Australians should be vaccinated. And, as the company has already announced, you will only be able to board Qanta with a vaccination certificate.
