Qantas flights from eight overseas destinations are touching down in Australia today, Monday February 21, bringing the first international tourists in almost two years and an eagerly anticipated boost for the country's tourism industry.
The Qantas Group will fly more than 14,000 passengers into Australia this week as quarantine and border barriers for international tourists come down.
QF12 from Los Angeles was the first to land at 6.20 am and flights from other international destinations including Vancouver, Singapore and London will arrive into Sydney throughout the day. Jetstar's first unrestricted international flight JQ18 will touch down in Melbourne from Phuket at 10.05 am and QF70 from Delhi to Melbourne will arrive at 1.35 pm.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said bookings had been strong since the Australian Government announced the country was opening to international visitors, and today's arrivals will be the first of many. “It's fair to say we've all been waiting a long time to welcome visitors back to Australia. The thousands of international tourists arriving this week and many more over the coming months will help kickstart the tourism industry which has done it tough for the past couple of years.”
