Qantas and Jetstar delays restart of routes out of Perth as Western Australia’s border closures continue

Another airline has been forced to make drastic changes to flight routes, citing a lack of clarity from Western Australia as the reason.

Following the announcement that Qantas has further delayed its Perth to London route as Western Australia keeps the nation guessing on when it will reopen, Jetstar has confirmed they will not have any flights out of the state to the rest of the country for the month of March.

According to the budget airline’s online booking platform, all flights out of Perth bound for other Australian capital cities have been cancelled throughout March as uncertainty hangs over when Premier Mark McGowan will bring down WA’s hard border.

The initial announcement that the Qantas Group would revise domestic capacity — mainly in and out of Perth — was released by the Group on January 21, explaining reduced domestic capacity by 10 per cent would come into place from 5 February to 31 March 2022.

Despite the elimination of Jetstar flights, Qantas will maintain core connections between Perth and the rest of Australia, with up to 15 flights per week from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin, supporting essential personnel and freight.

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Jetstar have dumped flights out of WA for the month of March. Picture: Chris Kidd

“Though at a fraction of its pre-Covid levels, Qantas will maintain core connections between Perth and the rest of Australia, with up to 15 flights per week from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin, supporting essential personnel and freight,” the Qantas statement said.

“The Group retains the flexibility to adjust flying levels depending on demand and clarity on border reopening in the weeks and months ahead.”

Flights out of Perth won't return until the beginning of April.

Jetstar’s announcement comes as Qantas said it would continue to run direct flights to London via Darwin instead of Perth until at least June

Before the pandemic, the airline operated one of its most popular routes out of Perth – a direct, 17-hour flight between the West Australian capital and London.

But Western Australia’s strict border closures forced Qantas to move the direct route up to Darwin in the Northern Territory.

The national carrier announced today it would continue flying its double daily direct flights from Australia to London via Darwin “following ongoing uncertainty around the reopening of the West Australian border and testing requirements for passengers transiting through Singapore”.

Qantas has delayed its Perth to London restart again. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

When Australia’s international borders were finally reopened in November last year, Qantas worked with the Northern Territory government to set up Darwin as an alternative hub, allowing passengers to arrive in or transit through the Territory capital.

Qantas hoped its Perth to London service could restart in April but the West Australian government is yet to confirm a reopening date for the state, forcing the airline to keep the route in Darwin until at least June 2022.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has suggested the state’s hard borders will not be dropped until 80 per cent of the eligible population have received a Covid booster.

Currently, more than 51 per cent of the population has been boosted.

This is our WA COVID-19 update for Monday, 14 February 2022.

For official information on COVID-19 in WA, visit https://t.co/qA5jY6F4yDhttps://t.co/Ieau7SXmBepic.twitter.com/5FNERgAN43

— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) February 14, 2022

To make transiting to Europe easier, Qantas will also continue to operate its Sydney to London flight via Darwin instead of through Singapore until June 2022.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has repeatedly butted heads with West Australian Premier Mark McGowan, claiming earlier this month the state was “starting to look like North Korea” with its hard line border closures.

“You can’t even travel around your own country … it’s starting to look like North Korea,” he said.

“We thought we had a date for that border to be opened … but that was stepped back from, it’s disappointed tens of thousands of people that had booked to go to WA.

“I think we should all be a bit outraged by it … we’re supposed to be all Australians.”

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Mr Joyce said the border closures had heavily impacted the tourism sector and he “didn’t get the logic”.

“It is very confusing here for a lot of people, and it is very hard for a lot of people,” he said.

“We should be getting on and living with Covid like we are in the eastern states today … the fact that we can travel to London but we can’t travel to Perth, I think there’s something fundamentally wrong with the federation if that’s happening.”

The Qantas CEO thanked the NT government for being so understanding.

“The work of the Chief Minister (Michael Gunner) and his team, and the co-operation of Darwin Airport, have made running and now extending this service possible. Because of their help, flying between Australia and London has been a lot easier than it might have been otherwise,” he said.

“This extension through to at least mid-June means the Top End has several months to properly leverage the opening up of Australia’s borders to all tourists. It’s a great opportunity to encourage thousands of visitors to stop off in Darwin to see what the NT has to offer.”