Qantas Darwin: New direct routes, jet base to be established

Qantas has announced a number of new direct routes to and from the Territory, including an international service.

NATIONAL carrier Qantas has delivered the Territory an economic double shot – recommitting to the Darwin-London kangaroo route in the short term and promising to establish a new jet base in Darwin for the long term.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and Chief Minister Michael Gunner will Tuesday morning announce it plans to establish a new Embraer E190 jet base at Darwin airport.

At least four E190s will be based in Darwin to service key Qantas routes across Australia, as well as a new international passenger service from Darwin to Dili.

Qantas says that with support from the NT Government, basing the four aircraft in Darwin will bring an additional 90 jobs to the Territory, including pilots, cabin crew and engineers.

The E190 jets feature both business and economy cabins with up to 97-seats and a five-hour range.

Qantas CEO alan Joyce, NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner and Tourism Minister Natasha Fyles ahead of an announcement of new routes out of Darwin. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Their size, range and economics of the aircraft have opened up more flights on existing routes and opened up new routes that wouldn’t be viable with larger aircraft.

Three new routes – Darwin-Canberra, Darwin-Cairns and Darwin Townsville will be launched later this year.

The airline will also replace its weekly East Timor route, which opened in February 2021 in partnership with the Federal Government, and it will now become a permanent route with three Darwin-Dili flights per week, ramping up to five flights a week from July.

Mr Joyce and Mr Gunner will today unveil the first E190 in QantasLink livery at Darwin Airport and said the new base would secure more travel options for Territorians and deliver an economic boost.

“The E190 is a fantastic aircraft and the new routes and frequencies they have supported means that Darwin is better positioned to take advantage of the comeback of domestic tourism and business travel,” Mr Joyce said.

“Basing these aircraft in Darwin means securing more jobs and a stronger local aviation industry.

“As we prepare to welcome back international visitors, the E190s will make it easier to fly directly between Darwin and other popular tourist destinations including Alice Springs, encouraging travellers to see more of Australia.

“The E190 allows us to improve our schedule for NT travellers. When we first introduced the E190 on our Darwin to Adelaide flights, we were able to double the number of flights we offered each day, giving customers more choice about when they travel. We look forward to providing this flexibility across other new and existing routes”

Meanwhile, Qantas will keep flying its double daily direct flights from Australia to London via Darwin following the Western Australian Government’s broke its promise to re-open the State’s borders on February 4.

Qantas temporarily re-routed its Perth to London service to Darwin last November when Perth initially declined to re-open with the rest of the country.

Qantas now says it will extend the so-called Kangaroo Route through to at least mid-June.

“This extension means the Top End has several months to properly leverage the opening up of Australia’s borders to all tourists,” Mr Joyce said. “It’s a great opportunity to encourage thousands of visitors to stop off in Darwin to see what the NT has to offer.”