Qatar Airways to resume flights from Adelaide to Doha
Five months after suspending its Adelaide service, Qatar Airways is returning. The airline will fly twice a week between Adelaide and Doha, offering South Australians overseas another route home and exporters an avenue to international markets.
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South Australians stranded overseas will have another route home from this weekend with Qatar Airways resuming an international service to Adelaide.
Five months after suspending its regular Adelaide service in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline will resume flights next Sunday, flying twice a week on Sundays and Thursdays to Doha.
The service will support the repatriation of South Australians overseas and also provide local exporters another route to international markets.
Each flight is expected to hold up to 15 tonnes of fresh produce, with South Australian lamb and beef producers expected to benefit the most.
The Middle East is the fastest growing region for Australian lamb and beef, and the Adelaide-Doha service was the main avenue for local producers to get chilled lamb and beef into the region before flights were put on hold.
Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said the airline’s return highlighted its commitment to the Australian market during the COVID-19 crisis.
“The resumption of Adelaide services and the recent launch of new flights to Brisbane demonstrate our long-term commitment to Australia and our guarantee to support Australian passengers and exporters with global connectivity during both good and bad times,” he said.
“We are proud to have been one of the few airlines to never stop services to Australia, even expanding our Australian operations during the crisis, to help repatriate over 170,000 Australians and international travellers with their loved ones and transporting hundreds of tonnes of cargo to maintain vital supply chains for Australian agriculture exporters.”
The resumption of Qatar’s Adelaide service comes a month after rival airline Emirates announced it was pulling out of Adelaide amid the global disruption to travel caused by COVID-19.
The Qatar service will provide connections to more than 50 destinations across Africa, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.
The service will be operated by the Airbus A350-900, offering 36 business class seats and 247 economy seats.
Adelaide Airport managing director Mark Young welcomed Qatar’s return.
“This will be the first regular international passenger service to the Middle East since March, and will open up important connections through to Europe and beyond for both essential travellers and South Australian freight exporters,” he said.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the Qatar service was important for local exporters servicing the Middle East and European markets as well as for international travellers.
“While international travel restrictions remain an important line of protection for Australia against COVID-19, the resumption of services will provide another avenue for repatriating Australians and eventually provide a path for international tourists into South Australia when our borders re-open.”
Premier Steven Marshall said the resumption of Qatar’s direct service was a “very positive first step in reinstating services for when our international borders open”.
“Qatar Airways has been a growing brand flying into Adelaide for a number of years, helping to service important markets to and from Europe, so it is terrific to see flights back in the air and some early optimistic news from the sector.”
Qatar began its direct service between Adelaide and Doha in 2016.
The airline’s announcement comes as no new cases of COVID-19 were reported in South Australia on Sunday. The state has reported a total of 459 cases.