Qantas redirects flight from Perth to London to avoid Iranian airspace

Los Angeles, USA - November 3, 2011: A Qantas Airbus A380 at LAX.

Qantas has been forced to redirect its non-stop flight between Sydney and Perth due to safety concerns after it was revealed Iran was planning an attack on Israel.

The flight, which usually goes between Perth and London 17.5 hours, will now stop in Singapore so that it can refuel for a different route.

The return flight will continue to operate directly on an alternative path due to prevailing winds.

“We’re temporarily adjusting the flight paths for our flights between Perth and London due to the situation in parts of the Middle East,” a Qantas spokesman is quoted as saying.

“We’ll reach out to customers directly if there’s any change to their booking.”

The changes are expected to last for the foreseeable future.

Since the decision, Iran has launched a drone and missile attack. The attack was in response to a suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria earlier this month which killed several top Iranian officials.

Source: Flightrader 24

Airspace was closed throughout the Middle East on Saturday as countries in the region braced for an attack from Iran.

Both Israel and Jordan were among the countries that closed the airspace.

Airspace reopened again on Sunday but dozens of flights were cancelled as Iran began firing missiles towards Israel.

Israel’s El Al cancelled more than 20 flights, whilst Emirates cancelled one of its Dubai-Amman flights, Air France and British Airways also cancelled flights to Tel Aviv.

United Airlines which only resumed its service to Tel Aviv early in March following the Hamas attack in October, called off its Newark to Tel Aviv flights on Saturday and Sunday  when Israel closed its air space.

Reroutes can be costly and challenging for airlines. Many airlines were forced to reroute flights back when Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Iran has warned that a retaliation will be more “severe” should Israel attack it again.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

israel qantas

Latest News

  • Conferences

Sydney confirms position as Australia’s No. 1 business events host

Sydney’s reinforced its position as the world’s preferred Australian host city, and top Australian city in the APAC region for international and local business events. Sydney secured 25th place in the worldwide ICCA city rankings and ranked 6th (ICCA) and 3rd (CVENT) in the Asia Pacific region. Tourism Australia also celebrated the ICCA 2023 rankings […]

  • Food & Beverage
  • Hotels

Luke Mangan launches Bistrot Bisou, his first Melbourne restaurant in over a decade

Melbourne-born, Sydney-based chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan will open his first Melbourne restaurant in more than a decade this winter with the launch of Bistrot Bisou, set within the art-focused, character-filled Hotel Indigo. Set on the corner of Flinders Lane and Spencer Street, the relaxed French bistro and bar will feature modern takes on classic […]

  • Luxury

COMO launches new family-sized farmhouse in the heart of Tuscany

COMO Hotels and Resorts has launched its new farmhouse apartments in the heart of Tuscany, just in time for Australians to escape our wet winter. And it’s also an ideal time for Aussies of Italian ancestry to explore their home country as 2024 has been declared the year of Roots and Heritage Tourism by the […]

  • Destinations
  • News

New Caledonia in lockdown and airport closed after violent riots rock Noumea

New Caledonia officials have announced a 6pm-6am curfew, a liquor ban and have closed the country’s main airport after overnight riots in which vehicles were torched and roads blocked in the wake of proposed constitutional reforms. Australian Government website Smartraveller has issued an alert informing visitors to exercise a high degree of caution in metropolitan […]