Qatar Airways expands Adelaide service
Qatar Airways is increasing the number of weekly services it runs between Adelaide and Doha as South Australia’s international tourism market tries to get off the ground.
Photo: Morgan Sette/AAP
The Qatari national carrier announced it will run five weekly services from Doha to Adelaide – and then on to Auckland – from July 1.
The airline was previously running the service three times a week. The increase brings Qatar’s number of weekly flights to Australia to 38.
It adds to the list of airlines recommitting to the South Australian market, with Fiji Airways restarting direct flights from Adelaide to Nadi on July 4 while Air New Zealand is recommencing direct flights from Adelaide to Auckland on July 6.
The State Government highlighted Adelaide Airport data showing that since May 23 this year the number of airline seats scheduled per week from interstate into Adelaide is above 2019 levels.
But the international tourism market is still well behind with short-term international visitor arrivals 58.6 per cent lower in April 2022 compared to April 2019, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
ABS data showing short-term international visitors to South Australia up to April 2022.
Adelaide Airport CEO Brenton Cox, who is eyeing direct routes to Japan and the United States, has previously indicated a full return to pre-pandemic international travel levels may take until mid-2025.
He said Qatar’s service increase is “great news for customers travelling from Adelaide to both Doha and Auckland”.
“We’re excited to see further growth in our international network, and the timing of this announcement couldn’t be better with Australia qualifying for the FIFA World Cup later this year,” he said in a statement.
“We’re seeing strong growth across our international and domestic networks, and the number of domestic flights to and from Adelaide has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels.”
Adelaide Airport is still yet to lure back Emirates, Cathay Pacific and China Southern which all pulled its services from Adelaide during the pandemic.
Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines kept operating direct flights to Adelaide throughout the pandemic and are now taking the bulk of South Australia’s European traffic as restriction-free international travel returns.
