Key points:

• Territorians will be able to fly directly from Darwin to London until at least June
• Up to 200 jobs are expected to be created when Qantas sets up its new Embraer 190 base in Darwin this year
• Australia is due to reopen its borders to international travellers from February 21

Qantas will continue to run direct daily flights between Darwin and London until at least the end of June amid ongoing uncertainty about the reopening of the border to Western Australia.

The route from Darwin to London was established in November last year when international travel resumed but WA remained closed, eliminating the airline's Perth to London service. Qantas was due to resume flights from Perth to London in April, but the WA government has still not confirmed when it will reopen its borders. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the extension of its "kangaroo route" to London via Darwin gave the Top End time to "properly leverage" the reopening of Australia's borders to tourists. "It's a great opportunity to encourage thousands of visitors to stop off in Darwin to see what the NT has to offer," he said.
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Qantas will continue to operate the Sydney to London flight via Darwin instead of through Singapore until June. In a statement the airline said testing requirements in Singapore were also a factor in the decision to maintain the Darwin connection instead. The airline currently operates daily flights from both Melbourne and Sydney to London via Darwin on its 787 Dreamliner.
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• New direct route connecting Melbourne and Dallas Fort Worth for the first time
• Doubling of flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles
• Qantas A380s to return to Melbourne
• Melbourne International Business Lounge reopens

Melbourne’s post-COVID tourism recovery is set to accelerate with Qantas launching a new direct route from Dallas Fort Worth and significantly increasing flights from Los Angeles. From 2 December 2022, the national carrier will operate four weekly return flights between Melbourne and major US hub, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), with its Boeing 787 Dreamliners. These are the first direct flights by any airline between the two cities and follows the success of Qantas’ longstanding Sydney-Dallas Fort Worth route.
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