Qatar Airways will be ramping up flights to Australia after announcing a global expansion.
The Doha-based carrier is expanding its international flight network with services to more than 150 destinations from June 16 this year.
It currently lists five flights per week to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, but from May 1, those cities will see a return to daily flights
Brisbane is back with four flights per week as of May 16, before having daily services from June 16.
Also coming back online from May 16 will be selected European destinations such as Budapest, London Gatwick, Mykonos and Nice.
They will be joined by Brussels, Dusseldorf, Lisbon, Oslo and Prague, the following month.
Meanwhile, all flights to and from Doha continue to operate through dedicated flight corridors established in close co-ordination with the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority.
On April 20, the authority announced the safe and gradual reopening of Qatari airspace and the resumption of foreign airline operations at Hamad International Airport.
“The Authority stated that this decision follows a comprehensive assessment of the situation, conducted in co-ordination with all relevant national entities, to ensure the highest levels of readiness and operational efficiency,” a statement issued on April 21 read.
“It affirmed that all flights and related operations will be carried out in accordance with the highest internationally recognised safety and security standards, with all necessary measures and precautions in place to safeguard passengers and aviation personnel.
“The Authority emphasised that the safety and security of all remain its top priority.”
Following the US-Israel war on Iran, Virgin Australia, a partner of Qatar Airways, halted international flights.
But as of June 16, it will restart daily Sydney-Doha and Melbourne-Doha flights, which are operated by Qatar Airways, while Brisbane and Perth remain cancelled up to and including September 15, 2026.
Passengers to and from Sydney will be pleased to know that through to mid-September, the Sydney–Doha flights QR980/QR909 will feature an Airbus A350 fitted with the award-winning Qsuites business class.
The business class cabin is described as “spacious, private and well-designed” and packed with features designed to make travel more productive and comfortable.
Some of these features include a sliding privacy door, a giant 21.5-inch high-definition touchscreen and generous secure storage compartment.
Meanwhile, the airline explained passengers with a confirmed booking with a travel date between February 28 and September 15, 2026 are eligible for complimentary date changes to a new travel date up to October 31, 2026 when rebooking on flights operated by Qatar Airways, subject to availability and fare seasonality.
If your flight is impacted, you also remain eligible for additional fee-free changes until October 31, 2026, or a refund of the unused ticket value.
Currently, Smarttraveller has ‘do not travel’ advice to Qatar due to the situation in the Middle East.
The advice was last updated on April 9.
“We raised our level of advice for Qatar to do not travel on 28 February, due to the volatile security situation and military strikes. ‘Do not travel’ advice applies to transit and layovers in Qatar,” it reads.
For more information, visit the government’s smarttraveller website.
