A Qantas A380 at London Heathrow Airport (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hisham Qadri)
Australian flag-carrier Qantas will temporarily operate its flagship route from Sydney to London via Darwin, making it the first-ever non-stop flight between the two cities, effective from Tuesday, March 24.
The amendment to the normal routing via Singapore comes after the travel restrictions imposed by the Singapore government regarding the outbreak of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
QF1, known as the ‘kangaroo route,’ will instead depart from Sydney at 6:00 p.m. and arrive in Darwin at 9:15 p.m. After refueling, the Airbus A380 will leave the northern city at 11:00 p.m. and land at Heathrow Airport at 6:15 a.m. the next day.
The reverse flight, QF2, will leave London at 10:15 p.m and arrive at Darwin by 11:55 p.m. Following the “gas and go” procedure, the aircraft will then depart on its final leg at 1:15 a.m. before finally returning to Sydney at 7:00 a.m.
However, this new routing will only last for one week with Qantas beginning to shut down its international flights from April onwards. But Darwin Airport can proudly add London Heathrow as a destination in its history books. Alongside Perth, Darwin becomes only the second Australian city having a direct route to London, albeit only for a short period of time.
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