Starting from 16 August, Qatar Airways will resume services to the South Australian capital of Adelaide with two weekly flights, announced a press release. 

With the restart of Adelaide, Qatar Airways will operate 23 passenger flights per week to Australia, including three weekly flights to Brisbane, four weekly flights to Perth, and daily flights to both Melbourne and Sydney. 

South Australia’s government said that these flights will provide another freight route for agriculture exporters to get their produce onto planes and into the Middle East and Europe, as well as another avenue for repatriating Australians. 

The Doha-based airline said that its cargo arm has operated charters and freight-only passenger aircraft to support Australian exporters and transport essential medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also introduced twice-weekly Boeing 777 freighters to Melbourne and Perth in April following the demand for Australian fresh produce and pharmaceuticals. 

With the resumption of passenger flights to Adelaide, the airline will operate a total of 25 flights in and out of Australia every week, comprising 23 belly-hold cargo flights and two freighters, with more than 700 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity each way. 

Qatar Airways joined the Australian Government’s International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) to help restore vital global supply chains between Australian exporters and their customers throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. 

“We are proud to have been one of the few airlines to never stop services to Australia, even expanding our Australian operations during the crisis, to help repatriate over 170,000 Australians and international travellers with their loved ones and transporting hundreds of tonnes of cargo to maintain vital supply chains for Australian agriculture exporters. The resumption of Adelaide services and the recent launch of new flights to Brisbane demonstrate our long-term commitment to Australia and our guarantee to support Australian passengers and exporters with global connectivity during both good and bad times,” Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, was quoted as saying.