Some might say it is a surprise, some might say it is not, but the big three Middle Eastern carriers have recently announced that they are returning to Australia very soon. It does make one wonder how many passengers are expected to be on these flights when only Australian permanent residents and citizens are allowed into the country at this present moment. Not only that, there is a current ban on residents and citizens travelling abroad. There are of course exemptions to be granted.
Etihad was the first to announce their twice weekly flight between Melbourne and London Heathrow via Abu Dhabi. Due to the current transit restrictions in the UAE, all passengers will remain on the aircraft whilst on transit.
Emirates have since announced that they will restart flights to Sydney and Melbourne from 21 May 2020. The airline has also announced that they will be flying to several other destinations such as London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Chicago and Toronto. However, with the current transit ban in the UAE, most foreign travellers would find it impractical if not impossible to connect in Dubai.
Qatar has never really stopped flying. They have maintained daily flights between Doha and Sydney and Melbourne. Qatar has also been continuously flying to some 16 destinations in Europe. Today, the airline has just announced that they will be returning to Brisbane thrice weekly from 20 May 2020 until 29 June 2020.
Environmental arguments aside, it is great to see planes returning to the skies. We can only hope with our fingers crossed that it will not be too long before all of us can return to the skies as freely as before!