The first commercial flight from Australia to the UK in nearly 600 days took off today, with Qantas’ service from Sydney to Heathrow, via Darwin, departing.
QF1 was one of the first commercial international flights from Australia, aside from its Trans-Tasman bubble with New Zealand, since the Covid outbreak. It departed Sydney at 6:30pm local time on November 1.
The first flight to touch down in Australia was the QF12 from Los Angeles to Sydney, which landed at 6am local time, with no border or quarantine restrictions for fully-vaccinated passengers.
Australia brought forward its international travel reopening date to November 1 from November 14 due to better-than-expected uptake of Covid-19 vaccinations in the country.
Initial flights on the first services are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and parents. Qantas flights to other destinations are scheduled to relaunch in the coming weeks.
Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said: “This day has been a long time coming for our people and our customers. It’s wonderful to see Australians able to reunite with loved ones after such a long time apart.
“It’s been very challenging time for our international crew, with many of them stood down since March 2020. We are in the process of standing up our Australian-based team members who are excited to get back to doing what they love.
“We are back in the air earlier than anticipated thanks to the millions of people who turned out in droves to get vaccinated. This made it possible for the Federal, and NSW and Victorian governments to open up Australia’s borders and remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers.
“International travel may be a little different for a while with some new requirements and guidelines in place, but one thing that hasn’t changed is Qantas’ commitments to safety and premium service. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome everyone back on board.”
Sydney airport chief executive Geoff Culbert added: “Today some of the magic returned to our arrival halls; grandparents meeting grandkids for the first time, families reuniting, all of the scenes that have been absent for far too long. Additionally, Australians who have been waiting to reconnect with friends, families and loved ones overseas can now go freely, without needing an exemption.
“It’s also an incredibly important day for the 800 organisations and thousands of people who work at the airport. Quarantine-free travel means that shops can re-open, businesses can bring people back, and we can all start the process of recovering from the worst crisis in the history of aviation.
He said: “We still have a long way to go in terms of the recovery of our sector, but allowing fully vaccinated Australians to travel without quarantine will provide the template for bringing back students, business travellers, and tourists from all over the world.”