Australian carrier Qantas has announced it will not be returning to South Africa’s skies in October as planned, but will delay its return to at least 20 December 2021.
‘Our Johannesburg-Sydney flight has been pushed out from October to December, as the borders remain closed,’ Regional Manager Africa for Qantas Airways, Michi Messner, said according to Tourism Update. ‘We continue to monitor the system and to update as necessary. It is still unclear when borders will fully reopen.’
Australian government aims to reopen international borders in mid-2022, reports Simple Flying. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has since called for an end of lockdown in the country.
About 20% of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated, and authorities are pushing for residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
‘We need to claim back our way of life so that we can visit friends and relatives, get back into the workplace, get our kids back to school, travel domestically and internationally again, and welcome the world back to enjoy all that Australia has to offer,’ Phillipa Harrison, managing director of Tourism Australia (the country’s official national tourism board) said according to CNN.
Picture: Twitter/One World Alliance
