Qantas set to resume flights to major international destinations but not domestically
Qantas has announced new flights overseas to cities including London and LA but Western Australia and Queensland look to remain hermit kingdoms with their slow jab rates.
With Qantas announcing a return to international service, Sydneysiders will be able to enjoy chili crab in Singapore before they can savour a bucket of prawns in Port Douglas or Fremantle, according to an analysis of vaccine rates of different states.
On Wednesday, the national carrier announced that flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Singapore would return to service on December 18, provided the federal government’s outward travel ban was lifted.
Further flights to destinations including Tokyo, Fiji, and Honolulu are expected to start in the days after.
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We can eat chili crab in Singapore before enjoying a coffee in Fremantle. Picture: iStock
However an analysis of the trajectory of the various states and territories’ vaccination rates suggests that while international destinations will open for people from NSW by the end of the year, contingent on the government letting the outbound travel ban expire on December 18, other states will have their walls up for much longer.
Data projections published by the ABC found that NSW would hit its first target of 70 per cent of the eligible population double dosed on October 6, followed by the ACT on October 11, and Victoria on November 2.
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Sydneysiders won’t be heading to Perth’s CBD. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Philip Gostelow
This would see those jurisdictions likely hit 80 per cent double-dosed by early December.
However laggard jurisdictions like WA and Queensland, which have continued to pursue elimination of the virus and put up hard borders to most of the rest of the country, are well behind.
According to the analysis, neither jurisdiction is scheduled to hit its 70 per cent double dosed target until November 19 or 20, suggesting that 80 per cent might not be reached until Christmas.
The Doherty Institute plan, which all states signed up to via the National Cabinet, says that jurisdictions may move forward to the next phase of re-opening once they have hit the agreed double dose vaccination target, and that the national average vaccination rate has also hit the same target.
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West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has threatened to lock South Australians out of his state. Picture: Jackson Flindell
While the large populations of NSW and Victoria will help pull the national average up, WA and Queensland have indicated that they would not open up to the rest of the country for some time.
On Tuesday WA Premier Mark McGowan, who has come under increasing fire in recent days for failing to get his health system ready to handle outbreaks of the Delta variant, threatened to lock out South Australians if they opened up to the world when they hit 80 per cent double dosed.
“I don‘t know when they’ll get to 80 per cent, what comprises of that 80 per cent and whether or not they’re do it but … if they do (have community spread), we’ll most likely close to the jurisdiction,” he said.