Qantas’ international restart faces fresh delays

Qantas has pushed back a planned resumption of international flights, following indications from the Australian government that the country’s borders will only reopen in 2022. The carrier delayed its international restart from end-October to late-December, though it notes that flights to and from New Zealand — which fall under the ambit of the Trans-Tasman travel bubble arrangement — are not affected. In its federal budget on 11 May, Canberra hinted that international borders will remain closed for most of the year as an inoculation drive gets underway, with international travel likely to “remain low” through mid-2022. “The rate of international arrivals will continue to be constrained by state and territory quarantine caps over 2021 and the first half of 2022, with the exception of passengers from safe travel zones,” the Australian budget papers state. It follows comments made by several Australian politicians that borders will likely only reopen in the second half of 2022. <br/>