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As a contribution to helping travellers get home, Qatar Airways is adding extra capacity to Australia next week.

The corona crisis has caused most airlines to cut their routes drastically. Several countries have closed their borders and major international airports have temporarily stopped all operations. This has created problems for travellers who are still abroad and trying to get home.

Qatar Airways has also noticed the decline in international air traffic, but unlike many other airlines has chosen to maintain many of its international routes for the time being. The company still operates around 150 daily flights to more than 70 destinations worldwide. Now Qatar Airways is putting extra capacity into Australia to bring people home.

“We continue to fly around 150 daily flights to more than 70 cities around the world,” says Qbar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker. – Sometimes travel restrictions are introduced which mean that we simply cannot fly to a country. We work closely with authorities around the world, and where possible we will resume flights and deploy additional capacity if necessary.

First flight to Brisbane

Qatar Airways is now deploying additional capacity to Australia to bring people home, whether they are residents of Australia or foreigners who need to get out of the country. In total, capacity is increased by 28 departures, or around 48,000 extra seats.

As of March 29, Qatar Airways will fly the following routes to Australia:

• Brisbane (daily with Boeing 777-300ER)
• Perth (two daily departures with Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER)
• Melbourne (two daily departures with Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 777-300ER)
• Sydney (three daily departures with Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 777-300ER)

This is Qatar Airways’ first flight to Brisbane, where the company currently has no normal flight route.

– We know that there are many people who will be with their families and loved ones during this difficult time. We are very grateful to the Australian authorities, airports and staff for their support in adding more departures to bring people home. Especially for getting flights to Brisbane, says Al Baker.

Photo: Qatar Airways