(CNN) – Australian airline Qantas said it plans to resume international flights by the end of October 2021.
The company released its half-yearly financial results on Wednesday and included confirmation that it has a plan to restore international flights by autumn. This applies to both Qantas and Jetstar, the low-cost operator also owned by the company. The airline also plans to increase trans-Tasman flights to New Zealand by July.
The fall date was chosen because the airline believes it will fit Covid-19’s vaccination efforts across the country.
However, don’t expect these flights to look the same as they did before the coronavirus. For example, only 22 of its 25 international routes (including Los Angeles, Johannesburg and London) will return on or before October 31st. In the meantime, Jetstar will revive all 13 of its routes, which include flights to Bangkok, Seoul and Tokyo.
Fewer planes will run on each route, and fewer passengers will be on each plane.
A Qantas representative said the airline is examining several digital health passes, also known as “vaccine passports”, which will check whether a passenger has been vaccinated. Some countries are allowing vaccinated travelers to avoid quarantine on arrival, which is a critical first step in slowly reopening the global tourism industry.
Not surprisingly, Qantas has suffered a financial blow since the pandemic began last year.
Despite creative ideas like a seven-hour tourist trip dubbed “the flight to nowhere”, Qantas has struggled as Australia keeps its borders almost entirely closed to non-residents.
Qantas, Australia’s oldest airline, turned 100 in November 2020. It started out as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, operating mail planes that delivered packages and materials to some of the most remote outback settlements. His first international flight route was to Singapore in 1935.
According to the airline, international travel is not expected to fully recover until 2024.