Some 600 days after Australia closed its international borders, Qantas commercial passenger flights have taken to the skies to reconnect Australia to the rest of the world.
QF12 from Los Angeles touched down in Sydney at 6:00am today [Monday 1 November 2021] with no border or quarantine restrictions for incoming passengers who are fully vaccinated. QF1 (Sydney to London via Darwin) will be the first Qantas International flight to depart out of Sydney at 6:30pm.
Subscribe to LATTE’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury travel industry.
While the national carrier has flown hundreds of Federal Government repatriation flights during the COVID-19 pandemic, and operated under a temporary border bubble arrangement with New Zealand earlier this year, these are the first regular Qantas international passenger flights after the Australian and NSW governments relaxed restrictions on overseas travel.
All passengers on Qantas International flights are required to be fully vaccinated, unless they are under 12 years old, are 12-17 year olds travelling to Australia with their family or guardian or have an exemption.
Initial flights are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and parents in line with Federal Government requirements.
Welcome to Sydney
🇺🇸 > 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/YtiZB30nZc— Qantas (@Qantas) October 31, 2021
“This day has been a long time coming for our people and our customers. It’s wonderful to see Australians able to reunite with loved ones after such a long time apart,” said Alan Joyce Qantas Group CEO.
“It’s been very challenging time for our international crew, with many of them stood down since March 2020. We are in the process of standing up our Australian-based team members who are excited to get back to doing what they love.
Qantas International is back! We’re reuniting family and friends between Sydney, London & LA 😍 pic.twitter.com/nuzyinpD8W
— Qantas (@Qantas) October 31, 2021
“We are back in the air earlier than anticipated thanks to the millions of people who turned out in droves to get vaccinated. This made it possible for the Federal, and NSW and Victorian governments to open up Australia’s borders and remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers.
“International travel may be a little different for a while with some new requirements and guidelines in place, but one thing that hasn’t changed is Qantas’ commitments to safety and premium service. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome everyone back on board.”
Qantas Customer Services Supervisor on QF12, Adrienne Innes, said being back in the air was the highlight of her year.
“It was amazing to welcome back our passengers, and the whole team was really emotional and excited to be able to take care of them on their journey home.”
Qantas will operate international flights between Sydney and London and Los Angeles from today, with flights to other destinations relaunching in coming weeks.
Singapore Airlines was the first carrier to touch down in Sydney today, with SQ221 from Singapore landing at 5:21am, about an hour earlier than anticipated. SQ’s Airbus A350 had departed Singapore at 7:14pm last night.
Japan Airlines flight JL51 from Tokyo was the third flight to land at Sydney at 6:18am. Other airlines that have also resumed uncapped flights include Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.
Meanwhile, Melbourne will see its first uncapped international arrivals, who will also not be required to quarantine, at around 10am Monday, with flights due to arrive from both Singapore and Auckland.
