Qantas to sideline Perth

QANTAS will temporarily drop Perth from its international itinerary and pause any increase in domestic flights to the city after determining there is no hope of Western Australia reopening its borders until early next year.

The decision means the airline’s popular Perth-London services, which starts in Melbourne, will instead go via Darwin until at least next April.

Qantas will also delay the resumption of regular domestic routes to Perth from NSW and Victoria until February next year.

The announcement came as Qantas prepares to increase domestic flights from November 5, based on Victoria’s reopening plan.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce (inset) said it was great to see plans firming up for some domestic borders opening, given the success of the national vaccine rollout.

“We’re now planning to ramp up flying between Melbourne and Sydney, which is usually the second-busiest air route in the world, almost a month earlier than expected,” he said. “There are also a lot of regional destinations that will open up for the first time since June, which is great news for tourism as well as family and friends who can’t wait to see each other again.”

Mr Joyce said Qantas would continue to make adjustments to its flying schedule based on discussions with state and territory governments.