[ad_1]
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 16: Qantas plane on the runway of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport on November 16, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. Australia’s national airline Qantas is celebrating 100 years of operations today, having been founded in Winton, Queensland on November 16, 1920, named Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited by Paul McGinness and Hudson Fysh. (Photo by James D. Morgan / Getty Images)
fake images
- Australian airline Qantas is the latest airline to suspend flights to and from South Africa.
- South Africa now joins the UK and the US as destinations excluded from Qantas’ flight path until the end of October 2021.
- The announcement follows a temporary suspension of Etihad flights between South Africa and Abu Dhabi.
- For more articles, go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
South Africa’s international travel network has faced another setback, with Australia’s flag carrier Qantas announcing that it had suspended all flight bookings until October 2021.
While Qantas is in talks about resuming flights to various Pacific and Asian destinations, the airline is currently limiting its operations to New Zealand and Australia. The decision to stop flights to South Africa until the end of 2021 comes just weeks after Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce announced that services to the UK and the US would be suspended for a year.
Prior to the global coronavirus pandemic and associated restrictions on international travel, Qantas had a constant connection to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, offering six direct flights to Sydney each week. The airline, which recently celebrated its 100th
birthday, it has a special history with South Africa dating back to 1952, when the first flight between Sydney and Johannesburg was made by a Lockheed L749-79.
In August 2020, reeling from international travel restrictions, Qantas posted its worst financial performance in a century, shedding more than R22 billion with loans to keep the airline operating exceeding Rand70 billion.
Joyce recently confirmed that international travel, particularly to the US and UK, would not enter Qantas’ radar until a successful coronavirus vaccine had been developed and distributed.
Qantas ticket holders have been advised to convert suspended bookings into travel credits. A ticket issued before January 31, 2020 must be reissued before December 31, 2020. This will validate the credits, valued at the original rate, until December 31, 2022.
Qantas will continue international repatriation efforts on instructions from the Australian government. On Friday 13 November, Qantas B787-9 departed from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg with 148 returnees bound for Perth.
Qantas’ prolonged absence from South African airspace coincides with a recent announcement by Etihad Airways, the second flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), that it would also suspend operations. Etihad will return to South Africa in March 2021.
Receive a daily news update on your cell phone. Or gand the best of our site emailed to you.
Go to the Business Insider home page for more stories.
[ad_2]
