Qantas Perth-Rome 787 flight set for launch

Qantas is gearing up for its landmark first flight between Perth and Rome on Wednesday night. The 787 service, which the airline says is now the only direct flight between Australia and mainland Europe, will depart as QF5 at 10:20pm local time. It comes weeks after Qantas launched the first non-stop flight between Perth and London. The popular UK route had been on pause since the beginning of the pandemic, with Qantas opting to shift the layover from eastern states headed to London from Perth to Darwin due to WA’s “conservative border policies”. Meanwhile, the airline’s QF1 route, which operates from Sydney-Singapore-London on the airline’s flagship A380 aircraft, resumed from 19 June — meaning Darwin will no longer operate as an entry or exit port for Qantas flights to London. Qantas also operates QF1 from Melbourne-Perth-London six times per week, with flights departing every day except Thursdays. The flight comes on the same day The West Australian reported Qantas was close to agreeing a new three-times weekly flight from Perth to Johannesburg. It’s thought the new route would see QF65 depart the WA capital at noon and land at 5.15pm, while the return, QF66, will depart Johannesburg at 7.20pm and land at 11.15am the next day. Qantas said in a statement that the route was one it has had its eye on for “some time”.<br/>