Qatar Airways to match Qantas repatriation flights from Cyprus after government request

In a positive sign for the proposed Qatar-Virgin deal, Qatar Airways has answered a call from Australia to help bring Aussies home from Lebanon.

In an encouraging sign for the proposed Qatar-Virgin deal, Qatar Airways has answered a call from Australia to bring stranded Aussies home from the Middle East conflict zone.

With the federal government considering a planned investment in Virgin Australia, Qatar Airways will operate two repatriation flights carrying up to 350 passengers each from Cyprus to Sydney via Doha.

Qantas is also operating rescue flights from Larnaca in Cyprus, in response to a request from the federal government to assist.

The first of two Qantas flights to Larnaca arrived on Monday, with the return leg due into Sydney on Tuesday afternoon with about 220 passengers on board.

Qantas said the non-stop flight was expected to take 18 hours and 5 minutes on the way over, and 17 hours and 20 minutes on return due to more favourable winds.

Passengers were taken to Larnaca from Beirut by charter flights organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

After arriving in Sydney, those on board will be accommodated on Qantas domestic flights to other airports at no cost.

Not to be outdone, Qatar Airways said it would also provide assistance, with the first flight due to arrive in Sydney on Monday night, and the second on Tuesday afternoon.

Qatar Airways chief executive Badr Mohammed Al Meer said they were committed to providing support to Australian passengers, and ensuring their safe return home.

“We have placed these special charter flights at the request of the Australian government to ensure that we extend all the necessary support and assistance required to bring those stranded people back home to Australia,” Mr Al Meer said.

Qatar Airways is set to operate repatriation flights from Cyprus, to bring Australians out of the Middle East conflict zone. Picture: AFP

Qatar’s partner Virgin Australia would then carry the passengers at no cost to other airports as required.

In the case of both Qantas and Qatar Airways, the flights are being operated free of charge, on behalf of the Australian government.

Qatar pointed out it was not the first time the airline had stepped into help Australians caught up in the current crisis, repatriating 222 passengers to Australia last October on a special charter flight from Dubai.

A statement issued by the airline also highlighted its assistance for Australians during the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing 180,000 people home, including those from Kabul in Afghanistan.

The move comes as Qatar Airways’ proposed investment in Virgin Australia faces scrutiny from the Foreign Investment Review Board, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

It was announced last week Qatar was seeking a 25 per cent stake in Virgin Australia, and also planned to increase flights into Australia under a wet lease arrangement from July 2025.

A wet lease is when one airline provides aircraft and crew to operate flights exclusively for another carrier, which sells tickets on the services.

Qantas had a similar arrangement with Finnair, which was providing A330 aircraft and crew to fly Sydney-Bangkok and Sydney-Beijing.

Those services are set to become “dry lease” arrangements from late-2025, whereby Qantas’s own pilots and flight attendants would crew the Finnair planes.

It is unclear when the Virgin-Qatar Airways arrangement would become a dry lease, if at all.