“Australia is ready for take-off,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared on Friday.
Qantas has brought forward departures to just ten days’ time. Pent-up demand prompted the biggest day of redemptions in its history, with half a billion points cashed in.
CEO Alan Joyce described the past 20 months as the “darkest period” in Qantas’ history, but confirmed all staff will return before Christmas.
The airliner’s first international long-haul flight since March 2020 will take off from Sydney en route to London on November 1.
That will trigger a staggered reopening of its traditional routes, with Australians able to head to a range of destinations across Europe, Asia, and Africa by early next year.
But with each setting its own requirements for quarantine and testing, some uncertainty remains over what international travel will look like.
Here’s what you’ll face when you head overseas.
Where can I go?
The UK and US for starters.
Qantas flights between Sydney-London and Sydney-Los Angeles are the first cabs off the rank, beginning on November 1.
That will be followed by flights to Singapore from November 23, Fiji from December 7, and Johannesburg from January 5.
People looking to travel to Thailand won’t have to wait much longer, with flights resuming in mid-January (Phuket from January 12, and Bangkok two days later).
A new route to Delhi, via Darwin, is also pencilled-in for December 6, but that’s pending approval from India.
Flights between Melbourne and London return on November 6, six weeks ahead of schedule. Flights between Melbourne and Singapore have been brought forward, too, and resume on November 22.
Talks are ongoing over when Australians will be able to travel to Bali. The island welcomed back foreign tourists a week ago, but there are currently…