Qantas expects to reinstate direct London-Perth flights as planned in June after Western Australia became the final state in the country to reopen its border following the pandemic.
The service has been diverted to operate via Darwin due to the delayed relaxation of travel rules for entry to Western Australia.
It had been planned to return in April but was delayed due to uncertainty over the timing of the reopening of Western Australia.
A Qantas spokesperson said: “Our most recent update is that we’ll be operating the route via Darwin until June 2022 when it would return to Perth.”
The first international travellers arrived at Perth airport today (Thursday) local time.
The rest of Australia reopened to international arrivals on February 21 for the first time in almost two years amid the pandemic.
More than 23,000 passengers are booked to travel this week on Qantas and Jetstar flights to and from Perth.
Several of the 31 Qantas and Jetstar flights on day one of opening are full, as Australians rush to reunite with friends and family or get back to business in the west of the country, according to the carrier.
Visitors to Western Australia must be fully jabbed and take a rapid antigen test within 12 hours of arrival and report any positive result.
Skyscanner and Qatar Airways reported a rise in searches and bookings to Perth while new tours are being introduced by Intrepid and Contiki alongside existing trips by APT to meet demand.
Tourism Western Australia is handing out more than A$500,000 worth of vouchers for tours and experiences to the first arrivals.
Flight search firm Skyscanner claimed a 153% monthly hike in global flight searches to Perth, with the most demand coming from UK travellers for outbound travel in 2022, in the week following the announcement that the border would reopen.
Asia Pacific regional director Paul Whiteway said: “Perth is also a great hub for many international travellers looking to fly direct to Australia from major global cities.”
Qatar Airways UK and Ireland regional manager Gary Kershaw added: “Perth has always been popular with our customers, but since Western Australia announced its opening on March 3 we’ve seen extraordinary demand with searches up 141% month-on-month and sales up 332%. It’s our most popular destination in Australia for Brits at the moment.”
APT managing director Paul Melinis said: “Western Australia is one of our biggest selling antipodean destinations for UK travellers and, as the UK’s principal operator to The Kimberley, we are thrilled to see the state’s borders reopen to international visitors.
“Our customers have been eagerly awaiting the moment when they can travel to the region again and, since the announcement, both searches and bookings for our tours and expedition cruises in The Kimberley have spiked dramatically.”