Qantas plan to reinvigorate their old routes throughout December, as part of the Australian Government’s efforts to repatriate thousands of citizens stranded in Europe.
Beginning in mid-December this latest round of repatriation flights will aim to bring home some of the 36,000 Australians, who have indicated that they want to return to Australia. Working in conjunction with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Qantas will fly the returning travellers to Darwin, where they will undertake two weeks of mandatory quarantine.
Flights are expected to sell out quickly, with priority going to the 8,070 classified by DFAT as vulnerable. The department will also control who can book, with those who can be offered a seat being emailed a unique set of instructions for booking.
Economy seats on the Frankfurt flights will start at AU$2095 ($1546/€1297) and Business Class on the Boeing 787 will cost AU$8679 ($6406/€5,372).
Qantas says that “the inflight entertainment system will be unavailable” so with these flights stretching to 24 hours from start to finish, passengers are advised to BYO reading material, moves and binge-worthy TV series.
| Inbound Route | Arrival Date in Australia |
| Frankfurt – Darwin | 13th December 2020 |
| Chennai – Darwin | 15th December 2020 |
| Paris – Darwin | 17th December 2020 |
| London – Darwin | 30th December 2020 |
| New Delhi – Darwin | 1st January 2021 |
| Frankfurt – Darwin | 3rd January 2021 |
| London – Darwin | 16th January 2021 |
| New Delhi – Darwin | 18th January 2021 |
| New Delhi – Darwin | 20th February 2021 |
Additionally, Qantas will carry passengers outbound from Australia wishing to return home. These can be booked normally, with departing foreign passengers not needing a permit to leave. However, Australian citizens and permanent residents are barred from leaving and require a permit.
Outbound Route Departure Date Sydney – Frankfurt 9th December 2020 Sydney – Paris 13th December 2020 Sydney – Perth – London 26th December 2020 Sydney – Perth – London 12th January 2021
“I’d like to thank not only the crew who are volunteering to operate on these services, but the many people behind the scenes who make sure these flights happen; particularly to cities where we don’t typically operate to.”
Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas