Qantas delays international flights out of Brisbane in response to quarantine rules

Qantas has bumped international flights out of Brisbane until next year in response to state’s hard line stance on quarantine.

Qantas has made changes to its international schedule in response to quarantine requirements in New Zealand and Queensland and varying levels of demand.

In the biggest adjustments, flights out of Brisbane to New Zealand, Los Angeles and Singapore will not recommence until late January or early February, three months later than those out of Sydney.

The move is in response to the Queensland Government’s requirement that fully vaccinated people returning from overseas undertake 2-weeks of home quarantine until the state’s vaccination rate reaches 90 per cent.

Currently 62 per cent of the state’s eligible population is fully vaccinated, with the 90 per cent threshold not expected to be reached until early next year.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce has repeatedly said any form of quarantine would be a major deterrent to travel, and make the resumption of flights uneconomic.

Qantas will also delay the restart of trans-Tasman flights out of other cities, because of the New Zealand Government’s ongoing requirement for hotel quarantine.

Regular flights across the ditch were expected to restart on January 3, providing restrictions had eased.

In addition, services from Melbourne to London were being pushed back from November 6 to November 27, following “subdued” demand for the earlier flights from Victorians.

The opposite was true of Sydney-London, recommencing on Monday November 1, with Qantas adding another ten return services in that month.

A statement said the route was in particularly strong demand from Australians coming home in time for Christmas.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said fully vaccinated people returning from overseas must still undertake two-weeks of home quarantine until the state’s vaccination rate reaches 90 per cent. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jono Searle

New Caledonia flights scheduled to resume in December were also being delayed, with Sydney-Noumea restarting on March 27 and Brisbane-Noumea on April 2.

The statement said customers booked on cancelled flights would be contacted by Qantas or their travel agent and provided with several options including rebooking at a later date, or payment of a refund or travel credit.

There was no need to contact the call centre, the statement said.

Customers booked on Qantas flights to and from Melbourne prior to November 27 would have the option of travelling via Sydney.

Melbourne-Singapore services scheduled to restart on November 22 remained set to go.

Qantas recently revealed more details of what international flying would look like when borders reopened on November 1, after 20-months without regular long-haul passenger services.

As well as new digital support in the form of emails and texts seven, four and one day before travel, passengers were reminded of the ongoing government requirement to wear face masks in airports and on-board flights.

Details of different requirements in various destinations were being added to the Qantas booking site to help passengers make well-informed decisions about travel.

More than 90 countries are now open to Australians without the need for quarantine, but about 62 require pre-departure and/or post-arrival Covid tests, declaration forms and specific travel insurance.

A number of other international airlines are continuing to operate regular services in and out of Australia including Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

The latest Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics report on international airline activity showed Singapore Airlines had the greatest market share in August, with 20 per cent of all passengers followed by Qatar, Air New Zealand and Emirates.

Originally published as Qantas delays international flights out of Brisbane in response to quarantine rules