Australia’s flag carrier, Qantas Airways on Wednesday announced that it would be forced to halt any current and planned international flights until the end of the year.
The sudden decision is due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the country’s newly revised anticipated timeline for the completion of the vaccination rollout, currently set for the end of this year.
Despite having offered the whole of Australia’s adult population a vaccination, supply shortages and vaccine hesitancy have slowed the rollout.
The federal government has also said that it will only reopen Australia’s borders once it is safe to do so, taking into account vaccination rates and coronavirus infection risks globally. Recent surges in Covid-19 infections in countries such as India, Japan and Singapore were also factors in the decision.
The airline had hoped to help Australians travel abroad to government-approved destinations such as London, Los Angeles and Singapore as soon as October, but that timeline has been pushed back.
“We remain optimistic that additional bubbles will open once Australia’s vaccine rollout is complete to countries who, by then, are in a similar position, but it’s difficult to predict which ones at this stage,” Qantas said in a statement published May 12. The only exception for international flights is currently operating between Australia and New Zealand.
“We will keep reviewing these plans as we move towards December and circumstances evolve,” the airline said in a separate statement.
In the meantime, the airline said it will continue to provide critical repatriation and freight flights overseas and support the recovery of travel at home. The resurgence of domestic travel remains the most important element of the group’s recovery.
“We will reach out directly to any customers with a booking between October 31, 2021, and December 19, 2021, however recent levels of uncertainty meant international booking levels were relatively low,” Qantas said, further stressing that its trans-Tasman Sea services to New Zealand were not going to be affected
The airline also expressed optimism that additional travel bubbles will open once Australia’s vaccination program is complete, and to countries who would hopefully be in similar stages, although it would be difficult to predict who at this current stage.
Source: airlinegeeks.com