Qantas has flown special direct flight between Perth and Paris, repatriation flight for Australians stranded abroad due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On December 13, 2020, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, registered VH-ZND and with "aboriginal" livery, of the Australian airline Qantas, flew from its Sydney-Kingsford Smith base to Perth Airport. From there, it took off for Paris CDG airport. He landed at his destination immediately after 06:00, local time, after about 18 hours of flying.
The return flight is scheduled to arrive in Darwin on December 17. Upon arrival in Australia, all passengers will be quarantined for 14 days at the Howard Springs Quarantine Center.
On this occasion, we can say that the Australian operator Qantas tested the performance of a Dreamliner on one of the races of the Surise project. Rumors of a direct flight operated by Qantas between Perth and Paris appeared 3 years ago, then reappeared in the spring of 2018. Unfortunately, the pandemic has grounded Project Sunrise, without a concrete date when direct flights can be operated through the project.
Other repatriation flights will be operated from Germany and the United Kingdom.
Another special Qantas flight was operated last week from Frankfurt - another destination in Project Sunrise (postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic, as well as the Airbus A350-000 delivery that used it). Another repatriation flight to Germany is scheduled for next month.
There will also be 3 repatriation flights from London Heathrow, where the Australian company opened direct flights from Perth in March 2018. The first 2 will be in the second half of December, and the 3rd flight will be at mid-January 2021.
We remind you that the Australian carrier Qantas, a member of the oneworld alliance, postponed the resumption of international flights until October 2021, at the earliest. The decision could obviously change after the vaccine is marketed - which, according to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, should be mandatory for all international passengers traveling to Australia.