Scott Morrison stated that Australia will soon ease travel restrictions with Singapore. Qantas also announced that it would accelerate the return of international flights.
Qantas announced Friday that 11,000 Australia-based employees will return to work in December. There is a new route from New Delhi and flights from Sydney to Singapore to Bangkok, Phuket, Johannesburg and Fiji are all scheduled to resume as planned.
The Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce suggested that flights to Bali could soon resume before Christmas.
Two steps were taken earlier in October by Australia to resume international travel. The New South Wales government announced that vaccinated travelers would be allowed to travel through Sydney without quarantine or hotel stay. And the Morrison government lifted the ban on outbound travel from the 1 November.
On Friday, Victoria and Tasmania will announce their plans for reopening. These plans are likely to include dates that allow for travel without quarantine.
The national plan states that once Australia's vaccination rates are at 80%, travel bubbles will be extended to allow unrestricted travel to countries such as Singapore and the Pacific.
Morrison stated to reporters in Sydney that Australia was closing in on an agreement with Singapore to allow Singapore's borders to open faster.
He said that we expect to achieve this within the next week, since we would be opening up to more visa-class holders coming to Singapore.
Guardian Australia understands that the relaxed restrictions will only be applicable to vaccinated travelers, who Morrison stated would be able travel to the ports here in Australia that are open in the same manner as in Sydney.
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Qantas announced that flights to Singapore will resume on 23 November. This is four weeks earlier than planned. The airline will be operating three flights per week and will increase to daily flights by 18 December. Jetstar will begin flying from Melbourne and Darwin to Singapore on 16 December.
National carrier announced that it will launch a new route between Sydney and Delhi on December 6, 2021. It will offer three weekly return flights, increasing to daily flights by year end. The route will be in operation until late March. Demand will then determine when it is available.
Qantas also announced the following:
Flights from Sydney to Fiji (Nadi), will be moved forward to 7/12/12
Flights from Sydney to Johannesburg will resume on January 5, three months earlier than originally scheduled
Flights from Sydney to Bangkok will resume on January 14, more than two months before scheduled.
Flights Sydney to Phuket Jetstar will resume on January 12, more than two months before the scheduled date
Joyce expressed his hope that Bali would reopen before Christmas as a destination for Australians who have been vaccinated. Morrison stated that he would talk to Joko Widodo next weekend to discuss it, which would be a great opportunity for further relaxed restrictions.
Qantas will resume flights from Sydney to London via Darwin on 1 November. This is the carrier's first long-haul regular flight since March 2020. Los Angeles flights are scheduled to resume shortly thereafter.
Morrison, earlier this month, reacted to the NSW premier Dominic Perrottet's announcement that Sydney would no longer be quarantined and warned that Australian citizens, residents, and their families would be prioritized over students, tourists, and other visa holders.
Morrison announced Thursday that skilled migrants and students would be able return to NSW in the late November or early December, and to other states that have dropped quarantine.
