Qatar Airways to Resume Flights to Adelaide, Australia

Qatar Airways has confirmed that it will resume flights to Adelaide, Australia starting from 16 August 2020.

The South Australian capital will become the airline’s fifth destination in Australia to see a resumption of flights.

The twice-weekly service to Adelaide will be operated with Airbus A350-900, offering 36 seats in Business Class and 247 seats in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “We are excited to resume services to Adelaide, highlighting our ongoing commitment to the Australian market during this difficult period ... We are proud to have been one of the few airlines to never stop services to Australia, even expanding our Australian operations during the crisis, to help repatriate over 170,000 Australians and international travellers with their loved ones and transporting hundreds of tonnes of cargo to maintain vital supply chains for Australian agriculture exporters. The resumption of Adelaide services and the recent launch of new flights to Brisbane demonstrate our long-term commitment to Australia and our guarantee to support Australian passengers and exporters with global connectivity during both good and bad times.”

With the resumption of passenger flights to Adelaide, the airline will operate a total of 25 flights in and out of Australia every week, comprising of 23 belly-hold cargo flights and two freighters, offering more than 700 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity each way.

Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Senator for South Australia, Simon Birmingham, said, “I am delighted to see the ongoing commitment of Qatar Airways to the Adelaide market. These flights will provide another freight route for South Australian exporters, enabling them to get their high-quality produce onto planes and into the Middle East and Europe. While international travel restrictions remain an important line of protection for Australia against COVID19, the resumption of services will provide another avenue for repatriating Australians and eventually provide a path for international tourists into South Australia when our borders re-open.”

Qatar Airways Cargo has operated a large number of charters and freight-only passenger aircraft to support Australian exporters and transport essential medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also introduced twice-weekly Boeing 777 freighters to Melbourne and Perth in April 2020 in response to the demand for Australian fresh produce and pharmaceuticals.

Adelaide Airport Managing Director, Mr. Mark Young, said: “We’re excited to welcome back Qatar Airways and we welcome their reaffirmed commitment to the Adelaide market. This will be the first regular international passenger service to the Middle East since March, and will open up important connections through to Europe and beyond for both essential travellers and South Australian freight exporters.”

The airline recently made the decision to ground its fleet of Airbus A380s, and instead operate its full fleet of Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft. Benchmark figures identified that Qatar Airways’ fleet of A350 aircraft saved up to 20 tonnes of CO2 per block hour on routes to Australia compared to the A380.

With the resumption of flights to Adelaide, Qatar Airways will operate 23 passenger flights per week to Australia.

See also: Airports, Air Travel and COVID19 - Exclusive Interview with SITA's President of Asia Pacific, Sumesh Patel.

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