Qantas has flagged it could make a major change when flights to the UK eventually resume, and WA Premier Mark McGowan is not happy.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has hit back at a suggestion by Qantas that Perth may lose its status as a transit hub for flights to London due to WA’s notoriously strict border rules.
Qantas has unveiled its expectation for the return of overseas flights, which are slated for mid-December if Australia hits the 80 per cent vaccination rate needed to trigger the reopening of our international border.
The UK, Singapore, Japan, the US and Canada are among the destinations with high vaccination rates that Qantas expects to fly to first.
With flights to the UK expected to be especially popular, Qantas said it was considering using Darwin as a transit point for non-stop services to London, which before the pandemic, took off and landed at Perth.
“Qantas’ ability to fly non-stop between Australia and London is expected to be in even higher demand post-Covid,” the airline said yesterday.
“The airline is investigating using Darwin as a transit point, which has been Qantas’ main entry for repatriation flights, as an alternative (or in addition) to its existing Perth hub given conservative border policies in Western Australia.
“Discussions on this option are continuing.”
Qantas has been using Darwin for repatriation flights from London, and the flight time between London and Darwin is about 17 hours — similar to London and Perth.
Mr McGowan said the suggestion of abandoning Perth as a transit hub was “outrageous”, especially after the state spent $15 million upgrading a terminal at Perth Airport to accommodate the UK flights.
“All of the income we produce … the revenue we produce for the Commonwealth government is keeping Australia alive, we shouldn’t be punished for that,” Mr McGowan said yesterday.
“All I’d say to Qantas … as a state, we funded the Perth-London flights.
“We put in place $15 million worth of improvement at the terminal.
“(Qantas) need to show some understanding and perhaps some gratitude to what the state government has done.”
Qantas said its plan to resume international flights to well-vaccinated destinations in December was dependant on Federal Government decisions, including quarantine requirements for returning travellers.
The plan excludes flights to riskier destinations with low levels of vaccination, such as Bali, Phuket, Bangkok, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City and Johannesburg, which would be will be pushed out to at least April 2022.
However, Qantas said it was confident flights to Covid-safe destinations would return in months.
“The prospect of flying overseas might feel a long way off, especially with New South Wales and Victoria in lockdown, but the current pace of the vaccine rollout means we should have a lot more freedom in a few months’ time,” Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce said.
“It’s obviously up to government exactly how and when our international borders re-open, but with Australia on track to meet the 80 per cent trigger agreed by national cabinet by the end of the year, we need to plan ahead for what is a complex restart process.
“We can adjust our plans if the circumstances change, which we’ve already had to do several times during this pandemic. Some people might say we’re being too optimistic, but based on the pace of the vaccine rollout, this is within reach and we want to make sure we’re ready.”
