Qantas extends Darwin stopovers on London route, announces new NT jet base

Qantas appears to be taking its relationship with Darwin to the next level, announcing a new jet base at Darwin Airport as well as extending its use of the Northern Territory capital as a stopover point on its London route.

When international travel began to recommence in November last year, Qantas temporarily re-routed its Perth to London service via Darwin after Western Australia opted to keep its borders closed.

The Perth to London service was scheduled to revert to operating via Perth in April, but with the WA government yet to confirm a reopening date for the state, Qantas will continue to operate the route via Darwin until at least June 2022.

The airline’s CEO Alan Joyce recently compared WA to North Korea, telling Nine Radio’s talkback show that the state’s hard border had divided the country “a bit like Korea is divided”.

To streamline transit arrangements for passengers, Qantas will also continue to operate the Sydney to London flight via Darwin instead of through Singapore until June 2022.

Joyce said the extension provides the Northern Territory with the added bonus of capitalising on pent-up international inbound travel demand.

“This extension through to at least mid-June means the Top End has several months to properly leverage the opening up of Australia’s borders to all tourists. It’s a great opportunity to encourage thousands of visitors to stop off in Darwin to see what the NT has to offer,” said Joyce.

Qantas currently operates daily flights from both Melbourne and Sydney to London (via Darwin) on its 787 Dreamliner.

The national carrier will also base at least four Embraer E190s in Darwin to service QantasLink routes across Australia, as well as a new international passenger service from Darwin to Dili.

The jets are being deployed on Qantas’ network as part of a three-year deal with Alliance Airlines to ramp up domestic flights and increase connections and schedules between smaller capital cities and regional centres.

E190s feature both business and economy cabins with up to 97-seats and a five-hour range.

With support from the NT Government, basing the four aircraft in Darwin will bring 90 jobs to the Territory, including pilots, cabin crew and engineers recruited by Alliance Airlines.

The size, range and economics of the aircraft have opened up more flights on existing routes as well as new routes that wouldn’t be viable with larger aircraft, including three new domestic routes from Darwin to Canberra, Cairns and Townsville.

Qantas has been operating weekly flights between Darwin and Dili since February 2021 in partnership with the Australian Government to maintain passenger and freight links with Timor-Leste. This service will now become a permanent commercial route with the E190 aircraft with three flights per week, ramping up to five flights each week from July.

Featured image: iStock/TkKurikawa