The national airline says from July 4 it will run twice-weekly direct flights between Adelaide and Nadi on Mondays and Thursdays.

The flights will depart from Adelaide at 12.35pm. Fiji Airways will use its 186-seat Boeing 737-MAX8 to service the route, with economy class airfares starting at $A649 a person.

Fiji’s borders opened to the world in December last year and the national carrier already operates routes to Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Fiji Airways managing director and CEO Andre Vilijoen said an increase in the airline’s fleet has allowed it to re-open the Adelaide route.

“We’re delighted to re-launch our fourth Australian route, which will allow us once again to bring our unique Fijian hospitality to South Australia, as well as offer local residents the opportunity to use Fiji as a gateway to other international destinations,” he said in a statement.

Adelaide Airport CEO Brenton Cox has previously stated that luring direct flights from Adelaide to Fiji was a “medium term” aspiration for the airport along with direct routes to Japan and the United States.

He said the Fiji option would offer travellers connections to US destinations.

“Flights will arrive in Adelaide late morning and depart around midday, so it will be a considerably more family-friendly timeslot and avoids the dreaded overnight flight between the two cities,” he said in a statement.

“The flights also offer good connections via Nadi with the airline’s North American schedule, providing another option for South Australians heading to the US, and indeed US travellers heading to SA.

“Fiji has always been a hugely popular destination with South Australian travellers and it’s great to see the reintroduction of routes as the COVID recovery continues.”