Qantas and Virgin put Bali flights back on the menu

Bali, Indonesia. - march 24, 2019 : Colorful sign I Love Bali near rice fields terraces in the background. Island Bali, Indonesia . Close up

It looks like Aussies’ favourite holiday destination may be back on the cards a little earlier than expected, with both Qantas and Virgin Australia scheduling flights to Bali for March 2022.

Both airlines have pencilled in resumption dates for flights between Bali and Australia alongside a few more international destinations in the Pacific region, including Thailand, the Philippines, Fiji and even South Africa.

Qantas’ website shows flights available between Sydney and Denpasar, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila and Johannesburg from 27 March, and Melbourne and Denpasar on 28 March.

Virgin confirmed it would begin flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Denpasar on 27 March, and would resume services to New Zealand early next year.

The airline said it has also scheduled Sydney-Nadi and Brisbane-Nadi flights from 23 December this year, and Melbourne-Nadi flights from 24 December, with tickets starting at $289.

Qantas announced earlier this month it planned to resume flights between Sydney and Fiji on 19 December alongside 12 other international routes it plans to kick off from December 18, including London and Los Angeles.

The news follows the federal government’s insistence that international travel will be possible for Australians by Christmas “at the latest”.

However, the resumptions of course depend on whether the government relaxes international border restrictions per the National Cabinet’s plan, and which countries it plans to allow Aussies to travel to.

Qantas released another update earlier this week revealing it would reroute its Perth-London service until at least April 2022 due to WA’s latest “border settings and assumptions”.

The airline will replace its Melbourne-Perth-London service with either Darwin or Singapore, depending on conversations with the Northern Territory government in the coming weeks.

Qantas has also put a freeze on increasing flights between WA and Victoria/NSW until 1 February 2022, while bringing forward the date for travel between Victoria and NSW from 1 December to 5 November 2021, based on Victoria’s reopening plan.

Just days before announcing the resumption of several international routes on 18 December, Joyce said the airline was prepared to offer international flights in Sydney and Melbourne first, leaving other states behind if they don’t reopen with the rest of the country.

Perth was noticeably absent from the initial spate of international flights announced by the carrier, which included services from NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

Qantas and Virgin have both made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for all staff, and Qantas’ CEO Alan Joyce has indicated the airline will make vaccination compulsory for international flights.

Featured image source: iStock/intek1

Advertise with us

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

bali bangkok Denpasar fiji indonesia jakarta johannesburg manila melbourne nadi qantas resumption of flights south africa sydney thailand the philippines virgin australia