The Territory Labor Government has welcomed plans from Qantas today to consider using Darwin as the next hub for non-stop flights between Australia and London.
The plans were proposed in the company's strategy for restarting international flights.
Qantas says the non-stop route is expected to be in even higher demand post-COVID, with the airline investigating Darwin as an alternative or additional transit point to its existing Perth hub.
Due to the gold standard of the Territory's Centre for National Resilience which has helped safely bring home thousands of Australians from overseas, Darwin has been Qantas' main entry for repatriation flights throughout the pandemic.
The Territory Labor Government's foremost priority remains keeping Territorians safe from COVID-19, and vaccinating all eligible members of the community.
Qantas' plans are promising for Australia's comeback capital and the Government will continue to work with the airline around the potential route for when it is safe to re-open to international flights.
Quotes from Chief Minister, Michael Gunner:
"From the Top End to Tower Bridge – it's exciting to think of the possibilities of a direct Darwin-London flight
"Darwin is the closest Australian city to London and it is a logical route to connect Australia and Europe once international travel resumes.
"Our focus right now is on keeping the virus out and keeping the Territory safe, but we are planning for a time when overseas travel resumes and we look forward to working with Qantas on this exciting proposal.
"We are Australia's comeback capital, and we want to bounce back stronger than ever when the time comes to re-open international flights."
Quotes from Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Natasha Fyles:
"We welcome Qantas' plans, and we will keep working with them around the possibility of this exciting route when it is safe to do so for our community.
"To secure direct flights from Darwin to London would be a first, and an almighty feat for the Territory.
"With our nation-leading vaccination rollout and response to the pandemic, there's no reason why we shouldn't be the next non-stop London take-off point when it is safe to re-open."
