When international flights resume on November 14 following the reopening of Australia’s border, Qantas has confirmed it will run its flagship direct service from Australia to London via Darwin.

The Northern Territory government and Darwin Airport negotiated an arrangement with Qantas to reroute its flights from Melbourne and Sydney through Darwin temporarily. From 14-Nov-2021 until at least Apr-2022, London services are scheduled to operate via Perth once again, thanks to the Darwin hub agreement.

Qantas will evaluate the new route’s performance and is open to what it might lead to in the future, even though the move is only temporary.

The Sydney-Darwin-London service will begin on November 14, 2021, while the Melbourne-Darwin-London route is currently scheduled to start on December 18, 2021. Still, it could start earlier depending on discussions with the Victorian Government on shorter quarantine arrangements for returning travellers.

Due to entry restrictions, it will be impossible to book a flight from London to Darwin. As soon as the aircraft has been cleaned and prepped for the further journey to Sydney or Melbourne, passengers will be rerouted to the airport’s international terminal.

Booking direct flights to Darwin or include a stopover in Darwin will be possible as soon as restrictions are lifted in Darwin.

At least for the time being, tourists will be turned away from Australia. These flights are only open to Australian citizens and foreign nationals with valid visas. On overseas flights, Qantas does not accept passengers who have not received the required vaccinations.

On a weekday morning, the service will be available. The distance between London and Darwin is 13,800 kilometres, and the flight time is 17 hours and 20 minutes.