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(CNN) – Australian airline Qantas has announced plans to resume international flights by the end of October 2021.
The company released its half-year financial results on Wednesday and included confirmation that it had a plan to restore international flights by the fall. This applies to both Qantas itself and Jetstar, the low-cost carrier also owned by the company. The airline also intends to speed up trans-Tasman flights to New Zealand by July.
The fall date was chosen because the airline believes it will align with Covid-19 vaccination efforts across the country.
However, don’t expect these flights to look the same as before the coronavirus. For example, only 22 of its 25 international routes (including Los Angeles, Johannesburg, and London) will return on or before October 31. Meanwhile, Jetstar will resurrect its 13 routes, which include flights to Bangkok, Seoul and Tokyo.
Fewer planes will be on each route, and fewer passengers will be on each plane.
A Qantas representative said the airline is studying several digital health passes, AKA “vaccine passports” that will help verify if a passenger has been vaccinated. Some countries are allowing vaccinated travelers to bypass quarantine upon arrival, which is an essential first step for the slow reopening of the global tourism industry.
Unsurprisingly, Qantas has suffered a financial blow since the start of the pandemic last year.
Despite creative ideas like a seven-hour sightseeing trip dubbed “the flight to nowhere,” Qantas has struggled to keep its borders almost entirely closed to non-residents.
Qantas, Australia’s oldest airline, celebrated its 100th birthday in November 2020. It began life as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, operating postal planes that delivered packages and equipment to some of the most remote settlements in the outback. Its first international flight was to Singapore in 1935.
According to the airline, international travel is not expected to fully recover until 2024.
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