Qantas flies to Delhi after 47 years

The first commercial Qantas flight from Australia to India, in almost a decade, has taken to the skies today, marking another milestone in Australia’s reopening to the world. The flight departed Sydney shortly after 6am and will touch down in Delhi after a 15-hour journey. The Sydney-Delhi service and the Melbourne-Delhi service, which starts just before Christmas, have been the fastest selling routes on the Australian national carrier’s international network since borders reopened, with most flights in December almost entirely sold out. Qantas is operating three weekly return flights from Sydney to Delhi, which will increase in January 2022, and four weekly return flights from Melbourne to begin from December 22, 2021. Qantas domestic and international CEO, Andrew David, said that demand for flights between Australia and India had surpassed the airline’s expectations. “We’re thrilled to be beginning commercial flights to India for the first time in almost a decade,” he said, adding that there is a huge amount of pent-up demand from friends and family wanting to reunite after being separated for so long. “There was an incredible response when we announced both our new routes to Delhi. Forward bookings for the next few months are well ahead of our initial forecasts so while it’s early days, it’s an exciting start. The level of pent-up demand on this route can be seen by the fact that almost all customers travelled as planned despite the temporary three-day additional isolation requirement,” he stated. It’s the first time Qantas has operated a commercial service to India since the end of its Brisbane to Mumbai service in 2012 and the airline’s first regular passenger flight from Australia to Delhi since 1974.